The Start of Nothing
by RaitonNinja
Summary: To find one's purpose in life is the goal of all. They build, strive, decieve and even kill to fulfill what they believe is their destiny in the world, only to realize that in the grand scheme of the universe, even the most impactful actions will only be a dot in history. Everything's essentially the start of nothing. This holds true for a small, blonde hero as well.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used within this story. All copyrights and such belong to a man named Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

 **The Start of Nothing**

The Kyuubi was not a happy being at the moment. He was currently in a fight with a mere mortal man, who was actually able to keep up with _him_ _._ Add that to the rest of the insects buzzing around him and you'd have the source of his irritation. Snarling, he swiped his tail, taking out a good portion of the shinobi and buildings around him. He almost felt content with himself, until he felt something tug down on him.

He was slowly being dragged down by huge chains made of...chakra. His body thrashed about wildly, the claw of his paw thrusting deeper into the two shinobi currently impaled on it. The chains around his body tightened, holding him down and preventing any further movement. He looked down into the eyes of one of the individuals, who stared back at him from underneath his blonde bangs. The small smile on his face, stained and dripping with blood, seemed to beam with the words 'I won'. It was almost as if the mortal was unaware that he was going to die soon.

The Kyuubi tried once again to free himself as he felt his essence being drained from him, but to no avail. He wasn't one to do anything unnecessary, so begrudgingly he resigned to his fate and allowed himself to be resealed. While it would be an inconvenience, he supposed he could wait a little while longer for freedom. One thing was for sure though.

Those Uchiha had to be eliminated. All of them.

* * *

 **(The next day)**

 _'Im getting too olld for this shit.'_

This was the thought currently going through Sarutobi's head as headed down the dark hallway leading to the council room. In one hand was the white hat once owned by the fourth, now re-owned by him, and in the other was a new born baby, sporting three whisker marks on each cheek, something Sarutobi hadn't even noticed yet.

"Dog, I take it everyone is seated?" The Hokage asked wearily. He was happy to see he had made it through the attack, but not at all surprised. He would've been shocked had he _not_ lived.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, they've all been seated, though it seems some did not make it..." The Anbu said, trailing off at the end.

He looked at the little bundle in the Hokage's arm, wondering why he/she was being brought to the meeting. He immediately remembered what had happened yesterday in terms of birth wise and stiffened when he saw the sharp look the Hokage gave him. Sensing the tension the Anbu now gave off, and positive he got the message he was insinuating, the Hokage immediately dismissed him. Steeling his resolve, he entered the the council room.

He was immediately faced with numerous questions posed by the council. Civilians asked about their shops and banks, while the shinobi half focused on the casualties and measures took to insure the villages defenses. Soon, however, the child in his arms was noticed and he told them about the sealing of the kyuubi in the child. The reactions were not quite what he expected.

The shinobi looked at the boy with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment that the beast was being held in such a small body. The civilian council shocked him the most however by their lack of response to the announcement. He was beginning to feel proud of the maturity they showed in such a situation, until one member spoke what was on all of their minds.

"So now we just dispose of it, right?"

Sarutobi frowned. "No, the child will stay in the village with me while I watch over his development."

Needless to say, the reaction was not a positive one.

Without knowing it, he began to leak out small amounts of killer intent, which was more than enough to shut up the civilians.

"I never stated you had a say in this matter! Do not be confused on the matter, this is a _dictatorship._ Consider yourselves lucky to have even been told in the first place. Now, this child shall stay within the village under my watch, and if anyone else has anything to say on the matter we can discuss it _personally._ Am I clear?"

Seeing that his point got through to the members, they spent the rest of the meeting delegating task for the major rebuild that was going to take place within the village for the following days. He caught a few of the members throwing dirty looks the boy's way, but they would immediately look away as soon as he turned his attention towards them. He sighed before dismissing them for the day and retreating off into his office for the rest of the night. The council members slowly moved out until only a few were left behind, who were talking amongst themselves.

"Well, looks like things are going to be really hard trying this time around, eh guys?" Inochi said looking over at his two teammates. Shikaku merely looked at him, before deciding it would be too troublesome to respond and preparing to go home. He wanted to get as much sleep as possible before the old man Hokage started rolling out the missions.

Chouza smiled sadly at his friend's attempt to lighten the mood. "Come on, let's go see how our families are doing."

Nodding, they each got up to go check on their respective families, all the while dreading the work that was soon to come.

* * *

 **(Uchiha district)**

A day after the attack, the Uchiha district was still in dismay. A good portion of it had been destroyed during the battle, while the rest was left mostly untouched. Families were mourning the lost of loved ones, while celebrating for those who survived. This was the sight Itachi Uchiha came back to. Unlike his fellow brethren, he actually listened to what the Hokage advised the people to do. He went to the evacuation site, taking his mother and little brother with him. His father left to provide support for the other forces, something Itachi himself desperately wanted to do as well. He knew he wouldn't be of much help though, so he settled for taking care of his family.

The mood around the compound was rather somber to say the least. The attack of course played a part in this but there were other things floating around as well. Rumors had already began swirling that the Uchiha were some how involved in the attack and council meeting did nothing to subdue these thoughts. The Hokage assured them that he had their back in the matter and knew they weren't directly involved, yet an air of doubt was hanging over these words. All in all, things had definitely been better for the Uchiha clan. He was leaving out of the store when he overheard two clans men talking.

"Did you hear the news? I heard they plan on moving the clan compound to the outskirts of the village! They say it would be easier on us than waiting for the area to be rebuilt, but I feel like we're being setup."

"What, really? There's no way the Hokage would agree to that man."

"I told you the Hokage didn't truly trust in us. He believes we had something to do with it just like everyone else does, and now he plans to shove us into the smallest corner of the village he possible can to undermine our power!"

"Im sure its just a rumor. Besides, the attack just happened not to long ago. How could all of this have already been decided this early?"

"Just goes to show how much they fear us, doesn't it?"

Sighing, Itachi made his way back home with the things his mother asked him to get. He stiffled a yawn, shifting the bag on his shoulder to a more comfortable position. There were still a few more things that he needed to get, not to mention his afternoon training with Shisui. He kept another yawn from escaping as turned into the main shopping.

He had far too many things to do, with far to little time to do it.

* * *

 **(Hokage Tower)**

Entering the office, the Hokage walked over to his desk and took a seat, closing his eyes for a few moments of peace. That's when he remembered the baby in his arms and took his first real look at him. The golden blonde hair reminded him of his father and he noticed the three whisker mark like birthmarks on his face. He sighed, knowing that those would only make his life that much harder. Well, for the time being of course.

He summoned his Anbu to see who were available for small errands he needed to be done. He sent out a group of them to find Danzo, who was missing from the meeting. He sent out another to look around for Jiraiya, who would no doubt still be roaming around the village after the tragedy at hand.

He looked down at the paper work on the desk, and almost fainted from the amount of work he had to catch up on. Peering out the window, he noticed most of the buildings surrounding the office was destroyed, or atleast partially. Realizing how much work needed to be done, he shifted little Naruto into a more comfortable position on his arm and got to work. He never noticed the set of red and blue eyes looking up at him with a face of curiosity.

* * *

 **A/N: A short introductory chapter for this little story of mine. It's an idea I've held for awhile and my first time writing, so I appreciate any of you who take the time to read it. Bigger things coming soon.**


	2. First Days

**Chapter 2: First days**

* * *

 **(6 years later)**

Just as the lights of a brand new day began to shine over the horizon, a golden haired boy slept peacefully in his bed. That was, until the lights decided to shine directly through his window onto his face. Grunting, Naruto slowly crawled out of bed to shut the blinds over his window. Laying back down to resume his slumber, he was interrupted yet again when his alarm went off. Cursing his luck, he smacked the clock off of his desk before moving on to get ready for his day. After doing the common morning tasks he set out a bowl of cereal for himself before heading out into the village.

"I wonder what the old man wants to speak with me about? Maybe he's decided to finally let me start the academy today!" Naruto thought out loud as he prepared to exit out his apartment. He had been asking the Hokage could he start learning about the ninja arts ever since the _accident_ had happened.

Naruto frowned at that thought. He never understood why the villagers hated him. He became even more confused when the hatred turned into them just ignoring him completely. He didn't dwell on that thought for long however as soon he was putting on his dark blue sweater and blue shorts as he ran out the door.

 _'Now which way is the tower again?'_ Naruto thought. As luck would have it, an Anbu guard dropped down at that exact moment.

"Feeling lost, Naruto-san?" Asked the weasel faced Anbu. Naruto nodded enthusiastically and let the man lead him to the tower. He talked on and on about how much he wanted to be a ninja and become an 'Anbu-san' just like his companion. The Anbu listened with mild interest, blocking out the useless parts and commenting on the more smarter things that came out of the boys mouth. Despite what many may have thought, he was actually quite intelligent with his use of vocabulary at a young age.

Soon they entered the tower and made their way to the Hokage's office. "Hey old man! How've you been?" Naruto asked.

Looking up, the Hokage smiled. "Naruto-kun, just the boy I wanted to see. Please, take a seat my boy." Naruto happily obliged.

Looking around, he realized weasel had disappeared. Taking note of that, he turned back to the Hokage giddy with excitement.

"So, what did you wanna' talk about old man?" Naruto asked.

Smiling once again, Sarutobi simply pulled out a backpack and handed it over to the boy. Naruto looked confused at first, then realized what was in there and immediately jumped up and threw his arms him.

"Thanks old man! I promise I'm going to become the best ninja you've ever seen!" He exclaimed. The Hokage chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Not if you're late for your first class." He remarked. Smiling, Naruto ran out the door heading for the academy. He dodged everyone in the crowded hallway and ran out into the street, proclaiming already how he was on his way to becoming Hokage. The current Hokage smiled once again as he got ready for the next load of paper work, feeling a little more motivated than before.

* * *

 **(At the academy)**

Naruto eventually made his way into the academy and searched for room 12. After a little guidance from one of the older students, he was standing in front of the door to his future classroom. Bracing himself, he opened the door, ready to begin his ninja career. Upon entrance he was shocked to find that the class was mostly empty. Only a boy with glasses and another boy who was asleep on his desk were there. Trying his luck, he took a seat near the pineapple head boy. Seeing as the boy was still asleep, he took to staring at the chalkboard as the room filled up. A girl with bright blonde hair much like his own took a seat next to him.

"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka, what's your name?" She asked smiling at him.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you." He said smiling back. The two fell into a short of awkward silence as Naruto didn't know what to say to continue the conversation. Deciding to just go for it with the one topic he could think of.

"So, why did you join the academy?" He asked with a tentative smile.

"Well, my dad's a really cool shinobi and I wanna' be just like him!" She exclaimed, rather loudly he thought to himself. Naruto smiled at her, though learning she had a dad had taken away his next topic. "Eventually I plan on taking over as the head of our clan."

"I wanna' be a ninja so I can become an Anbu like the Anbu-sans I know!" Naruto replied. With that, the two continued on in mindless six year old chatter until another girl had came up.

She began to smile at Ino, but frowned when she saw naruto. "Ino, you said we could sit together for class!" she exclaimed.

Ino frowned. "It's ok Sakura we were just talking." She stated. Feeling his time with his new friend was up, Naruto excused himself from the two and decided to move back over with the pineapple haired boy.

"It's ok Ino, you can talk to your friend. I'll just go somewhere else." He said.

Ino frowned at Naruto, who was going back to his spot near Shikamaru. Deciding she would speak to him later, she began to speak with Sakura about more girl centric things.

Walking back over to Shikamaru, who was now talking to a heavy set boy, Naruto decided to try his luck once again.

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, can I sit with you guys?" He asked shyly while rubbing the back of his head. The two looked at each other, before turning back to him, and replying yes. "So, what's your names."

"Shikamaru Nara." The boy who was asleep earlier replied holding his face in his hand. "And this is Choji." With that, the trio feel into a mindless chatter just like the rest of the class until their instructor entered the room.

"Alright class, quiet down...quiet down please...SILENCE!" The instructor yelled. After clearing his throat, he began the introductions.

"My name is Iruka Umino and I will be your instructor for your years here at the academy." He smiled. After a quick roll call, he decided to go over what they would be learning their first year.

* * *

 **(Later)**

"So, why do you guys want to become shinobi anyways?" Naruto asked his friends as they walked towards the playground. The class went by mostly uneventful, with small introductions of the students and a quick walk around the school so they could be familiar with it.

"My father insisted that I join the ninja ranks like him..." Shikamaru answered. Really he'd much rather be at home doing...take a guess.

"I'm doing it because I'll be awesome at it!" Kiba boasted.

Shino mumbled something about his clan, bugs, and being silent.

Choji went along with Shikamaru's answer while happily munching on his chips.

It was at that moment that Naruto realized he didn't have a lunch. Beginning to panic, Naruto frantically searched his bag, hoping the Hokage packed him something. He stopped when he noticed someone walking up to him.

He knew the boy was Sasuke Uchiha, the already proclaimed 'prodigy' of the class on the first day. He figured the much taller boy must've been his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. He remebered seeing him in the Hokage's office a few times.

"Onii-San, what are we doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi ignored the question, instead walking up to Naruto. "Good evening, Naruto-san. The Hokage asked that I bring this up to you." Itachi said as he handed him a bag with a bowl of ichiraku's ramen it.

"Oh, thanks?" He replied awkwardly. Itachi smiled and nodded before walking away. Sasuke stared at him for a moment longer, before following after his brother.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew Itachi-san and Sasuke, Naruto." Choji said between munches of chips. Naruto looked over at him awkwardly too.

"I don't. Well, I guess I sorta' know Itachi-san but not Sasuke..." He trailed off. Seeing the conversation was over, he took it upon himself to start inhaling his ramen. The others followed his example, and they spent the rest of their lunch talking about what they hoped to learn in the academy.

* * *

 **(Later that week)**

The rest of the week went by mostly uneventful. They learned about the basics of chakra, and that mean't the very _basics._ A few standard taijutsu stances that they weren't even allowed to use yet. The rest was a little knowledge about shinobi and what they do. A vary vague description of course not wanting to damage the young minds. Friday however brought upon the most fun time the class would ever experience. It was light spar day, from what Naruto heard from the older kids, and he was excited.

"Man, I wonder who I'm going to go against! I'm gonna totally wreck'em!" He exclaimed to his friends. Kiba snorted in response.

"Ha, that's a laugh, I bet you're gonna suck in everything!" He teased.

"Just hope I don't have to pound you, dog breath." He replied back calmly. He blocked out Kiba's rant as the class began to fill outside for the matches. He looked over into the other field on the school's ground and could see the other kids preparing to spar. He frowned as he noticed their area and setup was much different from the other's.

"Alright, today we're going to test you guy's reflexes." Iruka said. One by one he called the kids to the middle of the field and threw 10 balls at each kid. Most only dodged about 3 or 4, getting pummeled by most of them. Sakura managed to dodge 2, Ino 4, Choji 2, Kiba 6, Shino 5, and Shikamaru...0. That one resulted in Iruka giving everyone a speech on appropriate effort. Finally Naruto's turn came up and he ran to the field.

"Are you ready, Naruto?" Asked Iruka. Naruto nodded and Iruka threw the first ball. Naruto dodged it with a quick slide to the right, then the next one, then the next one, and so on and so fourth. Iruka threw the last ball and Naruto prepared to spin his way out of its trajectory but ended up tripping over his own feet and fell, getting pummeled by the last one. In total, he dodged 9 of the 10 balls thrown at him. The class stared at him with disbelieve. Even Iruka had a shocked look on his face.

"Great j-job Naruto!" Iruka said. Naruto grinned and ran back to his spot near his friends. Kiba looked at him with wide eyes and said what most kids were thinking, only a little more vulgar.

"The fuck was that?!"

This earned him a slap on the head from Iruka. Getting over his surprise, Iruka called Sasuke out to the field. He managed to dodge 8 of the balls, though one was more luck than actual skill, as he slid on the dirt, narrowly dodging a ball that flew over his head.

"Well, you all did exceptionally well today! That'll be it for today, cllass is dismissed, see you all Monday!" Iruka said.

Naruto frowned as he began to realize this grade level most likely wasn't allowed to spar and looked over at the clock inside the school, seeing it was 2:00. " _Woah, today went by fast! Oh well, maybe I'll get some ramen!"_ As he turned to run off, Kiba grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him back over.

"And where do you think you're running off too?" He asked. Naruto scratched his head before looking towards the direction of the gate. He looked back over and saw that Shikamaru and the others had came over as well.

"I was just going to go to Ichiraku's for some ramen. Why, what's the big deal?" he said. Kiba snorted before hooking his arm around Naruto's neck.

"And you weren't going to invite us? Man, some friend you're turning out to be." Kiba said pulling him towards the gate with the others following suit. "I mean, we're hungry too man!"

Naruto looked at him for a moment before a big grin shot across his face. It was then followed by a slight look of horror as he realized just who was coming along with them.

"Wait a minute, I don't have to pay for you guys do I? Because I've been watching Choji and I don't exactly think I can.."

Sasuke watched the group, particularly Naruto, until they were out of earshot. He was turning around to leave himself when he noticed Itachi waiting for him at the gate. He quickly gathered his things before running over to greet him, taking one last look at the group of boys leaving.

"Onii-chan, that boy was able to dodge all the balls thrown at him during the drill today, can you help me with it?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi looked at who he was pointing to and faintly smiled at who it was. ' _Figures he would pass a test like that one.'_ Itachi thought to himself. He looked over at his brother, who was waiting for a response.

"We'll see, Sasuke-kun." he said as the two began walking off. "Why don't you go and join them? I'm sure you would have fun, they look like a lively group." Sasuke simply shook his head before looking over at his brother.

"I'd much rather hang out with you Onii-chan. Besides, you keep saying you'll teach me something but you never do. Now your just trying to put me off with someone else." he said with a small pout. Itachi sighed before giving him a small poke in the head.

"Maybe some other time, Sasuke."

* * *

 **(Hokage's office)**

Iruka made his way towards the Hokage's office, having a few questions revolving around a certain student of his. After waiting for clearance from the Hokage, he entered the office.

"Ah, Iruka-san. What can I do for you today?" The Hokage asked taking a drag from his tobacco pipe. He had actually been waiting for the teacher to make his appearance, and had little doubt about what the subject was going to be.

"Hokage-sama, I have a few questions regarding my student, Naruto Uzumaki." He started off.

"He was able to dodged almost all of the projectiles during the reflex drill. He even seemed to be having _fun_ doing so. If he wasn't so clumsy and actually paid attention to his footing like the other kids, he could've dodged all of them. I was informed that he was supposed one of the less skilled kids in the class. So...what's the deal?" He asked.

Sarutobi smiled as he put his pipe back into his desk. Sitting back, he prepared an excuse that would reveal enough to satisfy the man before him, but not completely inform him of Naruto's skills.

"As you know, Naruto is different from the other kids his age," He started off. "Due to these circumstances, you could say Naruto took it upon himself to train during his young years, seeing as he wasn't welcomed to play with the other children." He finished, a small frown finding its way onto his face.

Iruka frowned also before asking a question the Hokage was ultimately trying to avoid.

"Just how far along is he, Hokage-sama? Should he even be allowed in this class? Should we maybe bump him up to..." Iruka trailed as the Hokage put a hand up to stop him.

"No, it would do Naruto good to learn the basics of the shinobi arts in a stable environment, one where he doesn't feel threatened. Also, I did state that he trained himself, meaning he's not that far ahead. Staying with his age group is the most comfortable thing for him at this moment. Besides, we are in times of peace. There is no need to rush his development along when he can mature at a reasonable pace comfortably." Sarutobi said.

Iruka nodded, and got up to leave the Hokage's office. When he left, the Hokage summoned his most trustworthy Anbu.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" The Anbu asked in a lazy voice.

"I would like for you to keep an eye on Naruto-kun, I believe he maybe pushing himself a little to hard lately." Sarutobi ordered.

Nodding, the silver haired Anbu left out in search of the boy. Sighing, Sarutobi layed back in his chair, preparing to finish off today's paperwork. Naruto had not been in the academy for more than a week and was already causing more work for him.

* * *

 **A/N: It didn't sit with me well how short that first chapter was, so here's the second one. To address any concerns, Naruto definitely won't be god-like in this fic. There's a key event that happened that shaped most of the changes that take place in this story, which you'll probably be able to figure out before its revealed. Anyways, reviews are welcomed and tell your friends about it, pretty please?**


	3. Who Knew The Devil Was a Hottie

**Chapter 3: Who Knew The Devil Was A Hottie**

* * *

 **(2 Years Later)**

"You're bat shit crazy!"

"Bite me, dog breath."

"Keep talking like that and I might have too, ass wipe."

Shikamaru sighed as Naruto and Kiba continued the argument that had been started earlier in the morning about whether or not the First Hokage could wipe the floor with the Second. Kiba argued that the First Hokage was the first for a reason and that if the Second was better then he would have been the first. Naruto argued that the Second Hokage could have easily been the first, but Senju was born first so obviously he would get the honors. That didn't mean the Nidaime was any weaker. In all honestly, Shikamaru could care less about who was better, but what he did know was that their constant bantering was keeping him up. The only thing that could make this worse was if…

"Oi, will you two pipe down already, you've been yelling at the top of your lungs all morning!"

Well, there it was.

Ino walked over and put her fist on her hips with a 'hmph' for added effort. Sakura came following behind her, a little less direct than her blonde friend. Naruto glanced over at her before turning his attention back to Kiba.

"Stay out of this Ino-chan, this is a man's conversation!"

Shikamaru perked up at that and looked over to see how Ino would react. He decided to move back a few spots when he noticed the rather bright smile she was sporting on her face.

' _I really should have just stay home today.'_ He thought to himself as Ino proceeded to grab Naruto in a headlock and choke him out. Sakura tried to break the two apart while Kiba simply pointed at him and laughed. Sighing, he contemplated getting up to intervene when the door to the classroom opened up and Sasuke walked into the room. The atmosphere in the classroom quickly went from lively to tense in a matter of seconds.

Ino had let go of Naruto's head and watched as Sasuke went and took a seat by the window in the middle of the room. Usually she and Sakura would attempt to approach him by now, but for the past week or so they had put that little activity on hold. Naruto frowned as everyone seemed to tighten up with Sasuke's presence.

It had been a little over a month since the Uchiha Massacre had taken place. News had broken out quick of the event, and that Sasuke was the only survivor outside of his older brother Itachi, who had committed the crime. Naruto himself still had a hard time believing that to be true. He had interacted with Itachi on several occasions, and he had been one of the few people in the village who treated him with some short of hospitality. He could only imagine how shook up Sasuke had to be.

He had just started coming back to the academy, and had barely said more than five words since he returned. Naruto wanted to say something to him, but what exactly do you say to someone who just lost his entire family in the span of one night? He figured it would be best to leave him to his own devices. His thoughts were broken when Iruka came into the classroom along with Mizuki.

"Alright guys, let's start with today's lessons. Pull out your books on chakra and Naruto! You're starting off the readings for today!"

* * *

 **(Later that day)**

"Man, I'm beat! I think I'm gonna' go home and sleep the weekend away." Kiba said stretching his arms in the air. Naruto scoffed as he followed him out of the academy gates.

"Everyone's busy this weekend, what are we gonna' do?" he asked, kicking at a rock and sending it flying down the street. Kiba whistled at the distance before turning and giving Naruto his feral grin.

"Well I don't know about you, but my sister plans on having some friends over and you know what that means for me." He said sticking his chest out. Naruto rolled his eyes before shooting him a grin of his own.

"Another beating by said sister of yours? Those plans of yours never work you know. You simply don't have my expertise of executing complex plans." Naruto said. Now it was Kiba's turn to roll his eyes as they turned onto the street that led to his compound.

"Im beyond those silly pranks you pull, what I'm working for is my ticket into manhood. It's only a matter of time before all the girls in the village flock to the great Kiba Inuzuka! Hey, I might even run for Hokage if the time calls for it." He said, knowing he would entice Naruto even further. Before he could respond however, Kiba made a B-line for his compound.

"See you in class Monday, Naruto!"

Naruto simply stared in his direction before turning around and heading over to Ichiraku's. Everyone else was busy with clan related things, so he had no plans what's so ever for the rest of the weekend. Not that he wasn't used to having nothing to do, but still as of late he had been more active with others instead of being to himself all the time. His train of thought was interrupted when the smell of another food caught his attention.

Looking up, he noticed he was standing outside of a dango stand. He looked it over and after hesitating for a minute, decided to take his chances and see if they would serve him. He walked over to the stand and looked up at the clerk. She was a young girl with brown hair, who looked back down at Naruto with a bored stare.

"What can I get ya'?" she asked, flipping through a magazine she had on the counter. Naruto looked over the menu before checking his wallet for funds.

"Um, can I get five mitarashi dango sticks please?" He asked tentatively. After a long moment of silence, Naruto was about to walk away when the girl finally looked up from her magazine.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

Naruto shot her a deadpanned stare before he repeated his order a little more forcefully this time. She rung up his order, which was thankfully at a reasonable price, and handed him his container of dango. He could've sworn he heard her say _"Thank you, don't come again!"_ , but chalked that up to his mind playing tricks on him.

He took a seat at one of the small tables and prepared to open up his container. Just as he was about to eat his first one, he felt something move underneath his feet. Jumping up, he quickly turned around to see what it was that had touched him. Finding nothing, he turned around to continue his meal when he noticed all his dango sticks were gone. He began to panic until he looked over at the shop clerk and saw her pointing into a direction. Looking over to where she pointed, Naruto did a double take.

Slithering off with his sticks of dango in its mouth was a snake. It took naruto a moment to process what was happening before he sprung to action.

"Hey! Get back here with my dango!"

He took off after the snake, which was surprisingly fast and agile. The villagers looked on with a mixture of confusing and amusement, moving out of the way as the two traversed down the street. The snake took a quick turn into a more forest like area, which started to slow Naruto down as he began to lose sight of where the creature was going. Eventually he lost sight of it all together and began to wander around the forest aimlessly.

He found himself walking into a clearance and took a seat down in the middle of the field. He did a quick look around to see if there was any sign of the snake before flopping down into the grass below him fully. As he stared up into the sky he mulled over the events that had just passed and came to the logical conclusion that someone must of put a hex on him when he was a baby. It was the only way to describe how bad his luck was in life. Sighing, he closed his eyes and went to take a nap.

"I wonder if it was some crazy witch or something…"

"Nah, it was definitely more like a crazy voodoo maiden."

"Yeah, that sounds more likely I guess."

With that matter settled, Naruto was fully ready to allow himself to succumb to his slumber when his eyes shot open and he jumped up from his sleeping position. He looked around frantically for the source of the voice until he heard laughing coming from above. Looking up, he saw someone half hanging of the branch of a tree.

Naruto squinted to get a better look at her. He picked out her spiky purple hair tied back in a ponytail and that she wore a long trench coat with knee stockings and a skirt. Underneath the trench coat was…

Naruto blushed heavily as he realized that the lady was only wearing a mesh shirt underneath the coat, and was about to quickly turn around when he noticed something else.

The lady was munching on a couple of dango sticks.

In her lap was a snake.

A snake that looked awfully like…

"Oi! Those are my dango sticks!"

Anko looked down at the boy and blinked before looking at said dango in her hand. She proceeded to put the last sick in her mouth before turning back to address what was just said.

"What are you talking about gaki, my snake here _found_ these dangos for me, and I don't recall it saying anything about them being stolen. Isn't that right, buddy?"

…

"So you did steal them?"

…

"...Well look at the bright side kid, you helped feed a beautiful lady like myself. You really should be proud you know." She replied giving him a face splitting grin. Naruto looked at her with a mixture of anger and astonishment that she could actually say that out loud with a straight face. That is, until his stomached growled and he realized that said person was also responsible for him not having a meal. A tick mark formed on his head as he looked back up at her.

"I don't know what planet you're from, but what I do know is you owe me five dango sticks you crazy snake pervert!" he said shaking his fist in her direction. Before he could react, she had tackled him to the ground and was digging her heel into his chest. She peered down at him with a deceptively sweet smile on her face, causing Naruto to swallow a large knot that had formed within his throat.

"Would you like to say that again gaki, I don't think I quite heard you correctly?" She asked, keeping the same grin on her face. Naruto struggled underneath her weight, trying to squirm his way from under her foot when she applied a little more pressure to his chest. He yelped out in pain and was about to yell for her to get off of him when a large growl ran throughout the area.

The woman stared down at Naruto with a blank look on her face as Naruto looked back with a huge blush adorning his. Another loud growled surfaced from his stomach, causing Naruto to turn a shade redder and the lady to fall over laughing. Naruto shuffled to his feet, keeping his eyes focused on the ground as she continued to howl with laughter.

"It's not funny…" He mumbled out, looking away to avoid any further embarrassment. The laughter died down, and soon his female companion was looking his way again with tears in her eyes.

"You are hilarious kid, honestly. I haven't had a laugh that good in a long time. What's your name?" She asked. Naruto glanced at her before looking away again.

"It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He said, not really wanting to give her his name but figuring it would better for him to do so in the long run. The woman muffled a few more giggles before she straightened herself out.

"Naruto, eh? Well my name is Anko Mitarashi, pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said holding out her hand for Naruto to shake. He stared at it, then back it her, before reluctantly shaking it. Greetings out of the way, Anko stretched before she began walking off in a seemingly random direction. Naruto watched her curiously until she turned around and gave him a quizzical look.

"Well, are you coming or not?" She asked before turning back around and continuing her walk. Naruto blinked before breaking off into a run to follow after her.

"Where are we going?" he asked, finally walking side by side with her. She glanced down at him before looking forward with a small smile on her face.

"You said I owed you five dango sticks, right? We're going to get them gaki." She said, leading him out of the forestry. Naruto looked at her before a small smile adorned his face.

"So you're not a devil after all." He said, the small smile now being replaced by a full blown grin as he threw his hands behind his head. A similar grinned formed on Anko's face as well.

"I'm not so sure about that kid."

* * *

 **(Later That Night)**

After eating unholy amounts of dango with Anko, Naruto found himself slowly making his way back to his apartment. They stayed and talked at the dango shop until they were put out, so it was already pretty late into the night when he started his journey back home. Normally Naruto tried to limit his time out at night, not because anything serious had ever happened but more so because he rather it stayed that way.

Hanging with Anko proved to be a rather interesting experience to say the least. He learned that she herself was a shinobi and had just been promoted to Jounin at that, though she said her status was a bit different than your regular one. Once he got pass the vulgarness of her personality and the sense of danger she always seemed to give off, the two had a great time together. She even offered to teach him a thing or two whenever she had the time, which Naruto was greatly looking forward too.

As he was turning towards the street that led to his apartment, he heard faint yelling coming from one of the training grounds he had passed up. Curiosity getting the best of him, he decided to check and see who would be out training so late at night. He followed the sounds until he was led into a large clearing with a decent sized lake occupying it. He also took note of the boy who was making all the noise he was hearing on his way home.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto watched as he ran through a series of hand seals before bringing his hands to his mouth in a cupping shape.

" **Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"**

He watched in a somewhat awed state as a small fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth seemingly. He had heard of the fireball jutsu, basically everyone in Konoha knew of it. He also knew that it was one of the Uchiha's specialties. Still, he was rather shocked to see that Sasuke was able to pull it off, though his did seem to be lacking in some departments.

As the last of the flames disappeared, Sasuke fell back to the ground with a heavy thud. His breathing was fast and erratic, and from where Naruto was standing, he could see that he was sweating profusely. Not wanting to be seen, Naruto began to turn and walk away when he heard Sasuke call out.

"I know you're out there, you might as well come out now."

Swearing, Naruto considered just taking off running before deciding that would seem like a pretty silly thing to do in this situation. Sighing, he turned around and walked into the clearing, meeting eyes with the Uchiha who was still laying on the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment, before they sunk down into a slight glare as he looked at Naruto.

"Naruto? You're the one who's been spying on me these past nights?" He asked, his face taking on a slightly disgusted look. He sat up into an upright position, though it seemed like he was having trouble doing so.

"Spying? I haven't been spying on you! Besides, this is the first time I've ever even come over here! The only reason I came in the first place was because you were making all this noise in the middle of the night. People are trying to sleep you know, what in the world are you doing?" Naruto rebutted back to him.

Before Sasuke could answer, the two heard the snapping of a twig in the opposite side of the field Naruto was on. After that came the sound of someone seemingly running off. Naruto and Sasuke both looked at each other before getting up and running after the sound. That is, until Sasuke fell over again after two steps, this time face first. Naruto stopped and looked back to see what was wrong with him. He looked back in the direction the person ran off in, before shaking his head and turning back around to give Sasuke a hand.

"What the heck is your problem? Whoever that was is getting away!" He exclaimed as he pulled Sasuke to his feet. Sasuke was panting hard, but managed to throw a small glare at Naruto as he shook him off.

"Shut it idiot, I'm fine alright?" He said before trying to move again. This time he managed only one step before falling to his knees. Naruto scoffed at the site.

"You don't look fine to me, maybe you should go to the hospital?" He said, moving over to give him another hand. He shivered at the thought of going to the hospital. Naruto hated that place with a passion.

"I don't need to go to a hospital. I just need to get home, that's all." Sasuke replied, still panting hard.

"Well you don't look like you're going to make it how you're going. Here, let me give you a hand." Naruto offered, taking Sasuke's arm and throwing it over his shoulder. Surprisingly enough, this time Sasuke didn't struggle. Naruto could tell by his face though that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"Don't speak of this to anyone, alright? About you helping me and whatever...that was that took off in the woods earlier." Sasuke said as they began to make their way out of the area.

"Yeah sure, no problem. But what exactly _were_ you doing out here this late?" Naruto asked, still rather curious at the site he walked into.

"What does it look like, I was training you idiot." Sasuke replied, sending another small glare Naruto's way. He took notice of it but brushed it off, more interested in what he just saw than anything else.

"So you already know how to the do fireball jutsu? Who taught you how?" Naruto asked, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. Sasuke didn't answer however, instead choosing to just stare ahead of him silently. Naruto sighed, seeing as he probably wasn't going to get an answer out of the Uchiha.

"Well anyways, you were probably training too hard out there you know? I used to get like this too sometimes when I exercised too much. The old man told me that I have to take it easy or I could end up messing up my body." Naruto continued with a thoughtful look on his face.

Sasuke just grunted, not taking his eyes off the path in front of him. Naruto sighed and gave in to the silence that came with the empty night streets. The two trudged along, the only sounds coming from Sasuke giving Naruto directions and the occasional late night drunkard. Eventually they made their way into an apartment complex, and Naruto helped Sasuke up to his door before leaving him on his own. As he was walking down the stairs he heard someone call out for him.

"Naruto."

Turning around, he saw Sasuke standing at the top of the stairs looking down at him. He had an unreadable expression on his face and some time passed before he said his next word.

"Thanks."

Naruto blinked, before flashing him his trademark grin and turning to walk away. A small smile found its way onto Sasuke's face as well.

"No problem!"

* * *

 **(Next Monday)**

"IM SOOOOOOO TIRED!"

Ino sat sprawled across Naruto's desk, face buried fully into her arms. Naruto sighed at her declaration and leaned back in his chair to look up at the ceiling.

"You just started training with your father Ino-chan, it can't be that bad." He said, balancing a pencil off of his nose. Ino looked up begrudgingly and glared at him.

"Easy for you to say! You weren't the one who had to stay up and hear theorem after theorem of things you didn't understand, only to be told at the end you probably wouldn't understand it until you're older!" she yelled back, collapsing back onto the desk. Naruto sighed before looking at the state of his other friends.

Shikamaru was asleep, though Naruto couldn't tell if it was because he had a hard time too or was just being himself. Choji was eating like regular, though he did seem a bit more sluggish today than usually. Shino looked fine. Kiba oddly enough hadn't come in yet…

Just then, the door opened and a boy covered in bandages walked/limped into the classroom. He hobbled up the stairs before taking a seat on the other side of Naruto. Before Naruto could say something, the boy held up a hand to stop him from talking.

"Don't say anything. Don't. Say. One. Word."

With that, he took to staring at the front of the classroom aimlessly. Naruto snorted before bursting out into full blown laughter. He was interrupted by the classroom door opening up again, this time with Sasuke walking through. Just like last time, the atmosphere in the classroom immediately shifted. As he made his way up to his regular seat he spared Naruto a small glance and a slight head nod before taking his seat. This of course did not go unnoticed by Ino, who was now along with Sakura looking at Naruto with a blank look.

"What was that?" She asked eyeing Naruto with squinted eyes. Sakura had now took to staring at Sasuke, no doubt contemplating should she take her chance to try and talk to him. Naruto looked back at her with quizzical look.

"What was what? What are you talking about Ino-chan" He said. Ino simply stared back him suspiciously.

"Sasuke-kun just nodded at you. That's the most interaction he's had with any of us in forever. Did something happen between you two?" She asked squinting her eyes at him even further.

"Nope, nothing at all. Not a thing. I barely even know the guy." Naruto replied leaning back with a grin on his face. Ino stared at him for a little while longer before a smile broke out onto her face and she turned around.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!"

She immediately took off to take the seat that was next to Sasuke. Sakura blinked before she too took off in order to meet Ino there. As the two began to argue over who would take the seat, Sasuke closed his eyes with his hands holding his head up trying to block them out, and everyone else looked at the scene with amusement. That seemed to break everyone out of their stupor as the class erupted once again into the lively hood it had before. Naruto's grin grew even wider before Iruka walked into the classroom.

"Alright everyone, settle do- what in the heavens?! Kiba? Is that you?"

"Don't. Say. Anything."

* * *

 **A/N: I want to get these introductory chapters out of the way anyways, so this is good. Next we'll get into graduation and team placements. Choji really threw this part off for me, since i didn't know whether I wanted to just place him on team 7 and keep things relatively the same, or change it up entirely. I've got scenarios mapped out for both, just a matter of deciding.**

 **To the Natertatertot (I laughed), I've got most of the pairings figured out for the most part, but I'm still open to changing some of them. They won't really be a factor until much later in the story though. I doubt I'll do lemons more so for the fact that I really don't think I'll feel like pushing myself to write one, not my style really.**

 **Make sure to review guys. I'm a rookie at this, all feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Never An Average Day

**Chapter 4: Never An Average Day**

* * *

 **(4 Years Later)**

The inhabitants of Konoha were enjoying a rather peaceful and ordinary Thursday morning. That peacefulness was soon broken however by the loud and rather frequent swearing coming from one high-up apartment. Emerging from said apartment was a blonde haired boy who looked like he'd seen better days, and that wasn't an understatement.

Naruto ran out of his front door and down the stairs before stopping on the last one and looking down at himself.

"Damn it! My jacket!"

He turned to run back into earlier mentioned apartment and was followed by the sounds of what seemed to be a tornado ransacking the place. A minute later, he reappeared down the stairs, said jacket still not on his body, and immediately took off down the street.

"I swear if I ever catch that damn voodoo priestess, it's going to be lights out!"

The villagers, who were watching the spectacle in a trance like state, continued to watch the boy until he was out of sight down the street. After a brief moment, everyone continued on with their lives as if nothing had just happened.

It truly was an ordinary day in Konoha.

* * *

 **(At the academy)**

Naruto trudged into the classroom with a miffed look on his face, expecting to be chewed out by Iruka for being late again. He was surprised to see however that Iruka wasn't inside the classroom. Neither was his assistant Mizuki. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, he began to make his way up the steps to his seat. His lateness however didn't go unnoticed by his fellow classmates.

"What's eating you, man?" Kiba asked with a smirk as Naruto took a seat next to him. He got a glare in response as Naruto decided to avoid answering his question. Kiba laughed and turned back over to Choji.

"So as I was saying, I heard that barbecue joint is hosting an all you can eat buffet until the the end week. We should definitely make plans to go there after graduation, right Akamaru?" Kiba said. Akamaru barked from his position on top of his head in response. Kiba was about to ask Choji did he hear him when he saw that he was drooling from the mouth with a spaced off look on his face.

"I'll take that as a yes…" He said with a sweatdrop. It was at this moment that Shikamaru's head shot up and he looked around the class frantically. After a moment he settled back down into his laying position, causing Kiba to sweatdrop even further.

"What the hell is wrong with you all today?" He asked. Shikamaru looked at him with one eye before replying.

"Usually Iruka-sensei would have told me to wake up by now. Where is he anyways?" Shikamaru said now fully sitting up. "Class should've started a long time ago."

"Maybe he's at home sleep? Sure wish I was…" Naruto mumbled with half lidded eyes. He stifled a yawn before leaning back in his chair, turning his head so that he was looking behind him upside down. He inadvertently caught eyes with Hinata as a result, who was sitting behind him.

"Goodmorning Hinata-chan!" He said flashing her a huge grin. Her face immediately started steaming and she quickly looked away to her side.

"G-goodmorning N-n-naruto-kun." she managed to stammer out. His grin grew wider before he righted himself in his chair and looked forward as the door to the classroom opened up. Mizuki walked in and looked up at the students surprisingly.

"Hey you guys, did Iruka-san step out or something?" He asked, looking around the classroom for his partner. Sakura turned away from talking to Sasuke to answer him.

"Goodmorning Mizuki-sensei. Actually, Iruka-sensei hasn't showed up at all today. We've been alone in here the whole time." She said, a worried look coming upon her face. "You don't know where he is either?"

"No idea, I told him yesterday that I would be coming in later today than usually, so he was supposed to come in earlier actually. Class should have started over thirty minutes ago." Mizuki replied with a frown. The entire class began to exchange looks at this news and kiba was the first to speak up.

"So? What are we going to do today then?" He asked, Akamaru barking for added effort. Mizuki scrunched up his face in thought before staring at the clock for a moment.

"Well, today was meant to only be a half day anyways for you guys to take your practice test for the exams...how about we just go outside for some light sparring?" He replied, snapping his fingers. The class erupted into cheers as they followed him out of the classroom. Naruto was a bit more hesitant in heading out.

Naruto wasn't particularly fond of Mizuki-sensei to say the least. Though he never outright did anything to him, Mizuki simply gave off bad vibes to him. Almost as if he could sense an evil intent flowing from him. It didn't help that he thought he occasionally saw him glaring in his direction at certain times. He chalked that one up to his imagination though.

They all came into the playground and formed a circle around a big space of open area. Mizuki went through attendance first before getting started with the exercise.

"Alright everyone, you know the rules. Nothing lethal, five minute time limit, and if I call the match, that's it." He shot a look at Naruto and Sasuke in particular on that last one. The two looked away sheepishly in response.

"Alright, first up is Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara, come on up!"

Kiba ran into the middle of the circle with Akamaru following suit as soon as his name was called. After a few seconds, he was still the only one in the circle. Mizuki scratched his head before looking around.

"Shikamaru is here today right?" He said, checking over the attendance clipboard to confirm. A light cough caught his attention and he looked up to see Shino pointing towards a tree on the opposite side of the field. Underneath it was Shikamaru doing...well it was pretty obvious what he was doing. Mizuki sweat dropped before putting a check by his name.

"That's an F for the Nara...you can come back with the rest of the class now Kiba." He said, causing Kiba to double take.

"The hell? You mean I don't get to fight? The fuck is that!?" He exclaimed not moving from his spot.

"I don't know what 'that' you're talking about, but I do know that language of yours just caught you another detention." Mizuki replied with a smug look on his face. Kiba stood there with his mouth agape before slowly walking back over to the other kids. He took a stance next to Naruto, eyeing Mizuki intensely.

"I'm gonna' kill him Naruto. One of these days, I'm going to kill him." He said, causing Naruto to laugh nervously. Mizuki began to call out the rest of the names, and Naruto blacked out until he felt a slight shake on his shoulder. He looked up to see Shino looking down at him.

"Mizuki-sensei has called you up." he stated while returning his stare back to the field. Naruto slapped him on the back, eliciting a small grunt from the bug user.

"Thanks, Shino!" He replied, jumping up and heading out into the field. He looked over to see his opponents was one of the civilians sons. Karu was his name, Naruto remembered looking him over. He'd never really interacted with the boy but he did know that his father was not a very nice guy, to him at least. Mizuki looked between the two before putting his hands up.

"You two ready? Begin!" He said while jumping back.

Naruto slid into a low and spread out stance, watching as his opponent took up the basic academy form. The two eyed each other for a minute, before Naruto broke off into a sprint towards the boy. Karu braced himself for an attack, but was surprised when Naruto jumped directly over his head. With a flip he turned in mid air and landed directly behind Karu, and before he could react sent a kick directly into his back.

Karu yelped in pain as he lurched forward from the attack. He righted himself before turning around to throw a punch to Naruto, though his punch didn't connect as Naruto dropped underneath it before swiping at Karu's leg with his own. He fell, but righted himself by landing on his hands, kicking out his feet in the direction Naruto was facing. Once again, he was met with only air though.

He then felt a punch connect to his left jaw, then right, before finally Naruto hit him with an uppercut that sent him flying upwards. It was at this moment that Mizuki decided to step in and stop the match.

"Alright, that's enough!" He said, waving Naruto off. He went over to check on the other boy, who had a swollen jaw and trickle of blood flowing from his mouth. Naruto began to make his way back over to the field, stopping only to send Sasuke a quick wink as he passed by. Sasuke paid him no mind however, currently focusing on blocking out the fangirls trying to get his attention.

"Wow, Naruto has really gotten a lot better lately." Ino remarked, impressed by what see saw during the match.

"Yeah but he's still no match for you, right Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said dreamily, inching closer to where he was sitting. Sasuke grunted in response.

"Well of course not, everyone knows Sasuke-kun is the best in the class. And stop trying to scoot closer to him forehead, can't you see you're bothering him!" Ino replied, pushing Sakura back to where she was. This caused the two to burst into a yelling match, only furthering Sasuke's discomfort. Kiba looked at the sight in disgust, snorting as Naruto returned to his spot next to him.

"What I'd give to knock that ass on his...well ass." Kiba said as Naruto sat down on the ground. He was about to reply when Mizuki yelled out next two names.

"Sasuke, you'll be fighting with Kiba since he didn't go, come on!"

Naruto looked over to see Kiba with the biggest shit eating grin he could muster on his face. He hopped up and threw a few practice jabs to get ready.

"My ancestors must be smiling down upon me, because my prayers have been answered!" He said with Akamaru matching his enthusiasm. Choji looked up at him as he opened up another bag of chips.

"Why are you so bent on fighting Sasuke anyways?" He said before shoving a hand full of chips into his mouth. He offered some to Naruto, who gladly accepted.

"Isn't it obvious? Once I knock that broody emo down on his sorry ass, all the girls will flock to me! The true alpha! Man, I can't wait any longer!" He exclaimed, running out onto the field to meet Sasuke. Choji looked over at Naruto who watched the spectacle with a look of amusement.

"Does it really work that way?" He asked, getting a shrug from Naruto in return.

"I don't really know much about girls thought process. Seeing as Kiba think it's right though, I'm going to go on a limb and say it's probably not." He replied, looking over at the group of girls swooning over Sasuke. He sighed as he took note that Sakura was one of the main girls in action.

' _What's it take for a guy to get some recognition around here? I just uppercutted a guy for heaven's sake!'_ Naruto thought with a frown as he watched his crush cheer for another man. He turned his attention back to the field to see the match had started and Kiba was firing up his trademark trash talk.

"Get ready to have that smug look wiped right off your face, cause I'm gonna' expose your sorry ass today!"

"Hn."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Hn."

"The hell does that mean?!"

"Hn."

"Oh, that's it!" And with that, Kiba charged straight towards Sasuke. He feigned a forward punch before quickly sliding to the right and throwing a right hook. Sasuke deflected it away before kicking underneath him with a sweeping motion.

Kiba jumped into the air and moved back to put some distance between the two, but Sasuke quickly closed in and began to throw a barrage of kicks and punches in his direction. After one in particular connected with his stomach, Kiba grabbed his arm with both hands, surprising Sasuke who couldn't break his grip. With a feral roar, he lifted Sasuke into the air and threw him upwards.

The crowd of students started to cheer at what was the most interesting fight they had witnessed today. Sasuke's fangirl section were particularly excited, yelling for him to 'wipe the floor with dog boy!'"

As Sasuke was coming down, Kiba rushed him and threw a punch directly into his stomach. This sent him spiralling into the ground, rolling to right himself only to be caught with a swift kick to the side when he did so. The crowd gasped as he was thrown to the other side of the ring. Never had Sasuke taken so much damage in a spar up to this point. As he got up from the ground, he glared over at Kiba who was smirking back down at him from the other side.

"Ready to admit defeat? I'll spare you the embarrassment if you call the match right now." He said looking down at him. Sasuke didn't reply, instead slowly getting up to his feet while looking at the ground.

Before Kiba could react, Sasuke disappeared in a burst of unexpected speed. The crowd gasped as for a moment everyone almost lost sight of him, until he seemingly reappeared directly in front Kiba. This time he opted for a kick into the abdomen, and angled it so that it lifted Kiba into air. He followed it up with a series of other kicks that further launched him upwards before finally grabbing his jacket and flinging him back down towards the ground, where he landed with a thud.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and even Naruto had to admit he was impressed with the move. Not that it was better than his upper cut combo, but still nice regardless. As Sasuke landed back on the field, Kiba slowly brought himself back upright, glaring daggers in the Uchiha's direction. He prepared to leap in for an attack again before Mizuki interrupted.

"That's enough you two, times up!" he said, forcing Kiba to skid to a stop mid attack. He turned around and gave Mizuki a pleading look.

"Wait, hold on! Just give us two more minutes Mizuki-sensei, please!" He begged. Mizuki simply shook his head and called for everyone to head back into the classroom. Sasuke was soon swarmed by all of his fan girls who were going crazy over the last attack he pulled off. Kiba stood slack jawed in the middle of the field still, not even acknowledging Naruto and the others as they walked up to him.

"Good job out there Kiba, you actually gave Sasuke a run for his money." Choji said, patting him on the back. Kiba growled in response, kicking at the dirt below him.

"I just needed one more minute, one more! Now that he got that last attack in, that's all anyone's going to remember! Mizuki-sensei completely ruined my plans once again! One of these days, I swear…" He yelled as the group began to make their way back to the classroom.

"I doubt your 'plan' was going to bring much success in the first place, Kiba-san. Your logic had many flaws in it, and seemed to be spurred on more by wishful thinking than factual thinking." Shino replied. A small silence fell over the group before Kiba spoke again.

"I hate you all."

* * *

 **(Later that day)**

News had finally got back to the classroom about what happened to Iruka in the morning. He had caught a case of the flu over the course of the week, and it got unexpectedly worse the night before. The class was relieved, as Naruto's stories of him getting kidnapped by enemy ninja or assassinated in his sleep had started to worry some of them.

Naruto and co were preparing to head home for the day when Mizuki called out for him to stay after class. Kiba sent him the sign of good luck as the rest of them headed out, leaving Naruto alone with him in the class.

"So what's up Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked feeling a little uncomfortable being alone in the classroom with him. This usually only happened when he was in trouble, and he couldn't think of anything he did as of late that would fit the criteria. Mizuki simply smiled in response as he leaned against Iruka's desk.

"Well this was originally something I was going to wait to talk with you about, but I feel like now is as good a time as any. How are you feeling about the upcoming exams we're about to take?" He asked, Naruto gulping in response. He figured he would do fine for the most part, but the one thing still holding him back was…

"I think I'll do just fine Mizuki-sensei…" He replied with a nervous smile and head scratch. Mizuki however didn't seemed convinced and only rose his eyebrow as an answer.

"Even on the clone part?" He asked, causing Naruto to go wide eyed. Mizuki laughed before getting up off the desk and walking over to Naruto.

"That's why I'm glad I caught you before hand. You've struggled with the clone technique ever since we first introduced it, so I knew it would be a problem for you on the test." He said, putting his hand on Naruto's head. "That's why I've got a small proposition for you."

Naruto's head perked up at this and he looked up at Mizuki with wide eyes.

"Proposition? What do you mean?" He asked, turning his head to the side in confusing. Mizuki smiled warmly at him before kneeling down so that they were eye level.

"Consider it an alternate assessment. It's something we give to kids who have the potential to be ninja but have something holding them back." He replied getting Naruto's full attention. "We had a kid last year who couldn't use chakra at all, but even he passed because he was able to complete an alternate assignment."

Naruto was practically jumping with excitement at this news. A way to pass without having to do that stupid clone technique? It was practically a dream come true!

"Well what's the assignment?! Are you going to test me now?! W-wait, I don't have all of my gear with me!" He replied excitedly, causing Mizuki to laugh in response.

"That's perfectly fine Naruto. With your skills, I doubt you'll have any problems with this assignment." He said with a sly grin forming over his face. "As for when, well why don't we go ahead and get it over with tonight? That way you'll already be set when the testing begins tomorrow. All you'll have to do is sit back and enjoy the show."

Naruto scratched his head as he looked over at the clock. The day was almost over, what type of test could he possibly have setup for now?

"Well, what's the test then?" he asked, squinting his eyes at his sensei. Mizuki's smile grew even wider as he stood back up to his full height.

"All you have to do is grab a little something and hold onto it until tomorrow…"

* * *

 **(Several hours later)**

Contrary to what many may think, Naruto was not as stupid as he seemed.

Sure, complex explanations and things that were overly difficult flew right over his head, but that's the case for basically every twelve year old that's not from the Nara clan. Naruto learned quickly at a young age that acting dumb only got you in bad situations, and bad situations for him were a lot worse than they were for others.

And so it was with this intelligence of his that he had the capability to ask himself this simple question.

' _Why in the world am I doing this?'_

He had managed to sneak himself into the Hokage's residence, that part was surprisingly easy enough. He had even managed to locate the room with the forbidden scroll and gain access to it. Again, a surprisingly easy feat to accomplish. So now he found himself in this room, staring at the scroll he was supposed to take in a blank state.

Robotically, he walked over to the large scroll and picked it up. He examined it from the outside and determined from it's sheer size that it must of held something of importance inside. So he decided to do something before taking the scroll out of its resting place.

He decided to open it.

Looking at the contents inside, Naruto's jaw dropped at the array of techniques that was present inside. He didn't even have a clue what a majority of these was! He continued reading to see if he could find anything interesting.

' _Eight trigrams sealing...Edo Tensei...Dead demon consuming seal… what the hell is this stuff?'_ Naruto thought to himself, looking over the techniques on the scroll. The explanations for each of these jutsu's were long and drawn out so he didn't even bother trying to read them. He was about to close the scroll when he saw one technique with a relatively short explanation.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu _? Oh great, another clone jutsu!'_ He thought looking over the technique's directions. It seemed rather simple enough, Naruto didn't see why it was placed with all these other difficult techniques. He stared at it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

' _Why the hell not?'_

He performed the one seal necessary and, not wanting to attract attention, whispered the name of the technique.

" **Shadow Clone Jutsu** **!** **"**

Naruto closed his eyes and prepared to hear the thud of a dead clone hitting the floor. When that never he came, he opened his eyes to see that nothing had happened. With a frown, he looked over technique again to see what he had did wrong.

' _Let's see...Tiger seal...split chakra...use lots of it…'_

He blinked before looking up from the scroll and rolling his neck.

"Use lot's of chakra? Say no more."

With that, he performed the seal and this time pumped a good amount of chakra into it. He heard a poof and looked over to his side to see an exact copy of himself in the same pose he was doing. They both stared at each other before a huge grin broke out over their faces.

"Hey, it worked! Sweet!" they said in unision.

Moving back to look at the scroll with his clone in tow, they both stared at it before Naruto looked up to address his...self.

"You know, these techniques seem pretty important to be in the hands of inexperienced academy students...you really think taking this would be apart of an assessment?" he asked, getting a contemplative look from his clone.

"I don't know, this whole thing seems pretty suspicious to me." The clone replied, shaking his head as the two continued to stare at the scroll. Naruto scrunched his face up in thought before moving to close the scroll.

The clone watched him as Naruto lifted the scroll up and put it on his back. He then turned and looked at his duplicate before grinning.

"Come on, we're going to pay someone a quick visit."

* * *

 **(The Hokage's office)**

The third was just getting prepared to leave his office when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up in surprise, figuring no one else would be in the premises at this hour besides himself. He readied himself before answering.

"Come in."

The door slowly creaked opened, and to his further surprise it was Naruto who lightly made his way into the room. It was then that he noticed the large scroll on his back, along with the other version of him trailing behind. Eyeing the scroll and realizing what it was, his eyes widened as Naruto placed it next to his desk before narrowing as the boy looked back up to meet his gaze. He flinched under the harsh look as the third began to address him.

"Naruto. Explain. Now."

He flinched again before going into detail about how Mizuki told him of the alternate assignment he could do to graduate and how he gave him the instructions on how to get to the scroll. Hiruzen listened intently, his gaze softening more and more as the story went on.

"And so the more I thought about it, the more it seemed weird for me to be doing this. I didn't really know what to do, so I decided it would probably be best to bring the scroll back to you, old man." Naruto said, finishing off his story.

Hiruzen sighed as he leaned back in his chair and put his hands over his face. If what Naruto had told him was true, which judging by his tone and cadence while telling the story it was, then Mizuki would need to be dealt with. However he did need some form of confirmation.

"Naruto-kun," he said sitting back up right in his chair. "You stated that you would meet up with Mizuki-san later tonight to give him the scroll, correct?" He asked, getting a nod in response.

"I would like you to go to this meeting spot and wait for Mizuki-san to come as you originally were going too." He said prompting Naruto to scratch his head.

"So this was an actual alternate assessment after all?" He asked as the Hokage got up to stare out the window.

"No, my boy, it was not. I believe Mizuki was planning to use you for his own personal gain, and likely hoped to have you take the fall." He replied, Naruto staring at him in shock. He turned around and gave the boy a warm smile, which seemed to calm him down from the mini panic attack he was having.

"So what's going on, are we going to setup a trap for him or something?" Naruto asked moving to grab the scroll from the desk. Hiruzen smiled before signaling for his standby Anbu to head out.

"You are correct, Naruto-kun."

* * *

 **(Village outskirts)**

By the time Naruto got to the meeting area, news had broken out that the forbidden scroll had been stolen and a manhunt had broken out to find the culprit. Hiruzen assured Naruto that nothing would happen to him, and to continue on with the plan as usually. And so he was sitting in the forest, waiting for Mizuki to show up.

He was just starting to become a little bored when he heard slight rustling coming from the trees to the right of him. He prepared to put the plan into action when he saw it that it wasn't Mizuki emerging, but Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" he yelled, catching the attention of the brown haired man who turned to face him.

"Naruto! What the hell do you think you're doing!" He yelled in between coughs as he slowly made his way over. "You've got the entire village looking for you!"

"I'm helping the Hokage out with an important assignment!" Naruto replied, grinning up at Iruka. The older man frowned down at Naruto before pressing the issue further.

"What do you mean you're helping the Hokage?" He asked as Naruto stood up to address him.

"Well we're going to set up a trap and cap-"

Naruto stopped speaking however when his ears picked up the sound of something coming towards them. Without thinking, he tackled Iruka to ground as a Fuma shuriken came soaring over their head. The looked up too see Mizuki standing in a tree above them. Naruto growled at the sight of him while Iruka looked on in shock.

"Mizuki-san! What's going on here!" he said as he stood up and positioned himself in front of Naruto. Mizuki dropped down to the ground and began to slowly make his way towards them, pulling out another Fuma shuriken.

"Looks like the Kyuubi brat couldn't pull off the heist without getting caught after all. Pity, although now I get to deal with you as well Iruka so I guess it's not so bad, yeah?" He said as he pulled another giant shuriken off of his back. Iruka was about to tell Naruto to run when said boy unexpectedly burst in front of him.

"You're the one who's going to be getting dealt with! You fell right for our trap!" Naruto exclaimed, getting both shocked looks from Iruka and Mizuki. Before either one could respond, five Anbu appeared and circled around Mizuki, forcing him to drop his weapon before apprehending him.

"H-hey! What's going on here?! What are you doing?!" He screamed trying to break free from their restraints.

"You've been placed under investigation for treason and conspiring on Konoha's secrets. You are to come with us." An Anbu in a boar masked said emotionlessly. Mizuki looked at him with a ludicrous stare that was soon replaced with rage.

"What are you talking about?! I didn't take anything, it was the Kyuubi boy! You can clearly see him in possession of the scroll, arrest him!" He yelled, further struggling under his restraints. Before he could continue however, a swift hit to his neck rendered him unconscious as they took him away. The Anbu in the boar masked stayed behind and went over to where Naruto and Iruka were standing.

"The Hokage has requested your presence after the completion of this mission." He said addressing Naruto before turning to Iruka. "You should come as well."

With that, he collected the scroll before disappearing in a poof of smoke, leaving Iruka and Naruto alone. Naruto threw his arms behind his head and flashed a smile at Iruka.

"Pretty cool ordeal, huh Iruka-sensei?" he said as Iruka simply stared down at him.

"Naruto, would you mind filling me in on everything that just transpired?" Iruka asked, feeling completely left out of the loop. Naruto gladly obliged and told Iruka about how Mizuki had tried to trick him into stealing the forbidden scroll and his decision to go to the Hokage first. Iruka listened quietly the entire time before finally speaking up.

"You learned the shadow clone jutsu that quickly? Could you show me?" He asked getting a nod from Naruto in response. He performed the seal and instantly a solid copy of himself appeared next to him, Iruka reaching out to touch him for clarification. Naruto dispelled the clone, looking back up at Iruka with his grin still intact.

"Pretty cool, huh Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said. Iruka simply stared at him blankly, at a lost of words for the story he just heard. His blank face was soon replaced with a grin as well as he pulled Naruto into a semi embrace by his head.

"Honestly, you are the most troublesome, danger attracting, unnecessarily difficult student I have ever had the privilege to teach. With that said, you're also the one that I'm most proud to have spent my time teaching. What you manage to do today Naruto was nothing short of extraordinary." He said giving the boy a warm smile.

"Geez Iruka-sensei, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted." Naruto replied, though the blush on his face gave away his true feelings. Iruka laughed before rubbing his head affectionately.

"Come on, let's not leave the Hokage waiting."

* * *

 **(Hokage's office)**

Having being explained the results of the mission three times, with a rather embellished one coming from Naruto, the third Hokage found himself sitting in his office with Iruka and Naruto still to the opposite of him.

"Naruto-kun, I can't thank you enough for the service you have done to this village. Your work allowed us to catch a traitor in our midst and prevented our secrets from being leaked to possible enemies. The entire village is in your debt." Hiruzen said while smiling, getting Naruto to blush for the second time today.

"I would have preferred if you used your head at first and came straight to the Hokage after your conversation with Mizuki, but I understand that we still have work to do with you on that." Iruka teased getting a deadpan stare from Naruto in return. Hiruzen laughed before standing up from his desk and walking around to the others.

"Well, with all that has transpired tonight, I believe it's time we retire to our homes. It's already well into the next day's morning." The Hokage said, causing Naruto to go wide eyed and stare at the clock.

"Oh crap! I still have exams tomorrow! Or today rather..." He said with streams of tears going down his face. Before he could get to distraught however, Iruka began to speak.

"I don't think that will be a concern for you, Naruto." Iruka replied reaching behind his head to untie his headband. "Close your eyes."

Naruto scrunched his face up before doing what he was told. He felt something go around his head, and he really hoped it was what he thought it was. Opening his eyes, he saw both the Hokage and Iruka smiling at him. Going wide eyed, he reached up to touch his forehead but instead was meet with cold steel.

"Congratulations Naruto, you're officially a certified shinobi of Konoha. I take it you have no problems with this Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked. Hiruzen simply shook his head, watching as tears began to trail down Naruto's face.

"Y-you mean I…" Naruto started but couldn't continue as he began to get get choked up. He wiped his eyes before running to embrace both Iruka and Hiruzen in a hug.

"I won't let you two down, I promise! I'm going to be the greatest ninja who ever lived!" He said burying his face in the Hokage's robes. The two looked at each other before Hiruzen turned back to the boy and returned the embrace.

"I have no doubt that you will be, Naruto-kun."

* * *

 **A/N: Anddddd book it! I know I said team placements would come this time, but this chapter went on a little longer than I expected and I felt like that was a good place to leave off on. The real fun starts next time, and you can't tell, but i'm rubbing my hands together like Birdman behind my screen currently.**


	5. Congratulations! Youre Certified To Kill

**Chapter 5: Congratulations! You're Certified to Kill!**

* * *

Naruto was groggily making his way back to the academy a day after the graduation exams took place. In light of the whole situation he was involved in the day before, he was excused from taking the exams seeing as he was already promoted to genin anyways and didn't really have a reason to come in.

And so he found himself for the first time in a long time waking up early on a Saturday morning to get ready for team placements. As he walked into the gates, he saw a lot of his fellow classmates being dropped off by their parents and families as they provided them support on their first day as real shinobi's. He would be lying if he said it didn't sting a little, as the Hokage was supposed to be seeing him off personally but unexpected business kept him from doing so.

Sighing, Naruto made his way up to his classroom and opened the door to head inside. Seeing as most students were still outside the classroom was completely empty, something that for the first time ever Naruto had no problem with. He sat at his desk and put his head down to try and snag a few extra moments of sleep. Just as he was beginning to doze off, he heard the sound of a chair moving behind and turned to see who it was. When he heard the slight 'eep!' come from said person he already had a faint idea of who it was.

"Goodmorning Hinata-chan." He mumbled turning back around to continue laying on his desk. A few moments passed before he received a response.

"G-goodmorning Naruto-kun. Is something b-bothering you today?" She asked, looking down worriedly at the blonde. He was usually bursting with energy, and even when he was tired in the morning he still made an effort to at least hide it. Naruto simply sighed as he slouched further over his desk.

"Nope, absolutely nothing." He said. Before the issue could be pressed any further, another student walked into the class gaining both Naruto's and Hinata's attention. Sasuke began to walk over to his normal seat before stopping to look at Naruto with the faintest hint of surprise on his face.

"Naruto? What are you doing here today? Didn't you miss the exams yesterday?" He asked as Naruto rolled his eyes in response. He got off of his desk and flashed the headband hanging around his neck as an answer.

"Let's just say I took the exam in another way, so I did pass." He said moving to lay back down. Sasuke was about to press further before deciding he truly didn't care that much to do so and continued to his seat. The class slowly began to fill with other students as Naruto began to drift back off to sleep. His slumber was interrupted once again however as he felt someone slap him on the back. He looked up to see Kiba and Akamaru staring down at him with a confused look on their face.

"Where the hell were you yesterday? I know you're a bit of an idiot, but I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to miss the final exams." He said taking his seat next to the blonde. Naruto yawned before sitting up, allowing Kiba to get a view of his headband.

"I passed my test dog brains, I just didn't take it with the rest of you." He said earning a skeptical look from Kiba. He was about to retort when Iruka walked into the room and asked for the class attention.

"Alright class listen up, today you guys are going to be learning who your teammates and sensei will be for the duration of your genin years. Before we get into that though, we're going to have a special word from Hokage-sama." Iruka said making way for the third to enter. Most of the kids reacted in anticipation of hearing words from the strongest ninja in the village, but Naruto tuned out most of it since he was still mad at the old man.

' _Will of fire...just the beginning...only gets harder...got it.'_ He thought as the elderly man began to make his way out of the classroom. Iruka grabbed his clipboard off of his desk and returned to the front of the class.

"Alright, it's time to separate you guys into teams." He said, eliciting a murmur of excitement from the crowds. Naruto listened intently for who he would be matched up with, also listening out for his friends names as well.

"Team 7 will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your instructor will be Kakashi Hatake." He said. Sasuke looked mostly unbothered by this while Sakura was declaring something about how love would conquer all. Naruto looked over to see how Kiba would react and sweatdropped when he saw his jaw was hanging to the floor. He immediately jumped out of his seat and pointed his finger down at Iruka.

"I demand a recount!"

"A recount of what? Sit down before I give you a final detention to serve as a going away present!"

With that Kiba slumped back down into his chair, and though Naruto couldn't be certain, he could have sworn he saw the early signs of tears forming in his eyes. Scratching his head in trademark fashion, he turned his attention back to the front of the class as Iruka continued with the teams.

"As I was saying, Team 8 will be Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Choji Akimichi. Your instructor will be Kurenai Yuhi." he said.

Naruto was a bit surprised at that one. While in theory he guessed that would be a pretty good team for tracking and recon missions, Choji being the protective muscle of the group, he was for sure they would go with Ino-shika-cho group that their parents had made known. He could tell from Ino's and Shikamaru's faces that they were shocked as well. Seeing as choji was out, that meant the last team would be…

"Finally, Team 10 will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki. Your instructor will be Asuma Sarutobi. That settles all of your team placements, your instructors will be coming soon to pick you guys up. Follow their directions from then on out, and good luck." Iruka said giving the class a smile as he left out of the room.

The newly approved genin all took to meeting up with their respective teams and discussing what their sensei would be like. Choji bid a farewell to Naruto and Shikamaru as he and Shino went to sit next to Hinata. Naruto looked over at Kiba to see him staring forward emotionlessly, not moving from his spot at his desk.

"Uhh Kiba? Don't you think you should go sit with your new team?" He asked, getting no response from the wild faced boy. He simply stood up and slowly walked over to his team members, sitting silently as Sakura discussed animatedly about how great it was to be on the same team as Sasuke. A sweatdrop appeared on Naruto's head again as he looked away from the scene to find his other fellow blonde teammate. Locating her, he convinced Shikamaru to get up so they could sit with her as well.

"Hey Ino-chan, guess we're on the same team together huh?" He said walking up to said blonde, a yawning Nara in tow. She simply glared up at him before turning her head the other way.

"I can't believe this, forehead gets to be on the same team as Sasuke-kun and I get a slacker and someone who doesn't even show up for the final exam!"

"Hey! I'll have you know I had a very important reason for not showing up!"

"What? That hideous orange jumpsuit of yours temporarily blinded you from seeing? I wouldn't be surprised!"

Shikamaru sighed as the two got into an argument which eventually turned to Ino once again putting Naruto into a headlock. He took a seat next to the two and after contemplating stopping their fight, decided it would be better for him in the long run to just let them do their own thing. With that problem solved, he decided to take a short nap while waiting for their Jonin instructor.

' _It's going to be a troublesome few years, that's for sure.'_ He thought drifting off.

* * *

 **(Later)**

The teams left in the room slowly began to dwindle until only three were left. Naruto, Kiba, shikamaru, Choji, Shino and oddly enough, Hinata as well resorted to playing cards with each other while Sakura and Ino continued to fawn over Sasuke. Eventually Kurenai came and took her team, with Asuma coming not too long after. Naruto bid Kiba a farewell salute, which he returned with glistening eyes.

After prying Ino away from Sasuke's side, the group made their way over to training ground 10, where Asuma was waiting against a tree. The group of genin lined up in front of him as he looked them over. He took a drag from his cigarette as he began to speak.

"Well, as you already know my name is Asuma Sarutobi and I guess I'll be looking after you brats for awhile. Maybe." He replied with a slight glint in his eyes. "I guess we should do some introductions so I can get to know you guys better, so why don't you start Nara."

Shikamaru sighed before standing up from his sitting position. He performed a long and unnecessary stretch before looking at Asuma. He was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke.

"Do we have too?"

Naruto and Ino snickered at the typical response while several tick marks appeared on Asuma's head.

"Yes, if you don't want me to send your sorry ass back to the academy, you do." He said taking another puff. Shikamaru looked as if he was actually contemplating taking him up on that offer but a slight look of fright passed across his face as a certain women popped into his mind and he began to speak.

"Fine, my name is Shikamaru Nara. I like to take naps, watch clouds, and play shogi. I don't like troublesome things. Is that good enough for you, sensei?" He asked with a bored look.

"What about your dreams for the future?" Asuma asked, a curious look coming on his face. He was actually interested in what a Nara strived for in life.

"My what?"

Never mind that.

Sighing, he turned to longer haired blonde and pointed at her.

"Alright, you're up Yamanaka."

"Sweet!" Ino said giving Asuma a smile. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, I like flowers, shopping, going to the beach, and Sasuke-kun. I don't like perverts and lazy asses."

"Feelings mutual."

"Hmph. My dream is to someday take over as head of the Yamanaka clan for my father." She finished, getting a satisfied nod from Asuma in response.

' _Not as bad as I thought she would be. That's good.'_ He thought turning to Naruto.

"Alright whiskers, it's your turn."

"Hey, I resent that!" Naruto said sending a glare at Asuma. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, I like instant ramen, Ichiraku's ramen, mitarashi dango, onigiri, and taking care of my plants! I don't like the time it takes to cook ramen, snakes, and people who dislike the color orange."

' _Welp, found the oddball in the group…'_ Asuma thought with a sweat drop.

"My dream for the future is to become the Hokage and gain recognition from the rest of the village!" Naruto finished with a grin. Asuma smiled at that declaration and kicked off from the tree he was leaning against.

"Well I guess that does it for introductions." Asuma said getting a odd look from Ino.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself Asuma-sensei?" She asked.

"No. Now moving on, I think it's time we get into the final test you'll partake in before you actually become genin." He said. Naruto, while trying to hold an angry Ino back, looked up at Asuma curiously.

"What do you mean Asuma-sensei? We're already genin aren't we?" He asked, Shikamaru looking up intently as well. Asuma chuckled before responding to the group.

"You may have passed the academy's test, but let's be honest, anyone with a little training could pass that thing easily."

Naruto looked away to hide a forming blush.

"The real test begins now. I'll get the last say in whether or not you'll pass on foreal. So how about we get started?" Asuma finished moving to the center of the field. The others followed him with varying degrees of worry on their faces.

"The test is going to be rather simple. You all have to survive for 5 minutes with me going at you. The key word in this test is 'all', because if I manage to knock even _one_ of your lights out, then it's back to the academy for all of you." Asuma said, satisfied with the nervous look his students had. They should be nervous, if anything it would help them stay on their toes.

"So, are we ready?" He asked. Ino went wide eyed at this declaration.

"Wait we're really starting now?!" She cried out as Asuma put a timed clock on a nearby rock. He then turned to smile at her.

"Yup, here I come!"

And with that, he immediately took off in a dash towards said girl. The test would have ended right there had Naruto not intervened and push her out of the way.

"Get your head in the game, Ino-chan! He's serious!" Naruto stated pulling her back to her feet. Ino huffed as she looked around for their potential sensei.

"I'm well aware of that now...where the hell is Shikamaru?" She asked looking around frantically. Naruto surveyed the field as well when he found the two locked into a standoff with kunais.

"A little help over here would be great!"

Naruto and Ino sprung into action, Naruto moving to get behind Asuma while Ino went to distract him from the front. Pushing off of shikamaru and sending him to the ground, he turned his attention over to Ino until he heard something that shocked him.

 **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

"Wait, what did you just sa-"

Five Naruto's appeared on the field and made a dash towards Asuma. He jumped over the first and stabbed it in the back with a kunai as it passed under him. Two more attacked from his left and right, making him duck under both of their attacks and let them dispel each other. He was about to take care of the other when he noticed something out of the side of his eye.

' _Fuck, that's one of the Nara's shadows.'_ He thought jumping away from it. While he was in the air, the two Naruto's launched to attack him. Swearing again, he swerved in a circular motion, swinging his legs in a way that they would hit the two orange clad boys.

One dispelled while the other took the brunt of the kick in his gut. Gritting, Naruto grabbed Asuma's leg, getting a gasp from the other man. With a roar he sent him flying back towards the ground, which Asuma managed to negate most of the damage by landing into a roll.

' _That...that must've took a lot of strength. The kid is way stronger than I thought he would be.'_ He thought to himself as he watched Naruto land and fall to one knee.

"Naruto, are you ok?" Ino asked moving towards her fellow blonde. Naruto nodded, though she could tell that hit to the stomach had knocked the wind out of him. Shikamaru went over to join them.

"Not even two minutes in and this has already been more troublesome than I thought it would be. We need to come up with a plan." He said. Ino was about to reply when Asuma began to charge towards them again. Naruto sighed as he righted himself again.

"You two think of one fast, I'll hold him off." He said making the tiger sign.

 **"Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

Two Naruto's poofed into existence and took off towards Asuma with the original.

"Naruto wait! You can't handle him on your own!" Ino called out as she went to go after him. Shikamaru grabbed her hand however preventing her from doing so.

"Wait Ino, as much as I hate to say it Naruto's the only one who even stands a remote chance at hoping to keep up with Asuma in close combat. We would be more of a burden than help right now." He said, Ino growling at the news.

"What do we do then? Eventually Asuma's going to get the best of him." She said as Shikamaru looked around the field. His eyes lost focus for a minute before he looked towards Ino with a glint in his eyes.

"I've got a plan, give me all of your ninja wire…"

Naruto meanwhile was not having a good time. It was clear that Asuma was miles ahead of him in terms of fighting, and it was being made clearer the longer this fight went on. Ducking under a punch, he didn't have time to react as a kick lifted him off of his feet. He was meet with another one to the chest that sent him airborne for awhile.

"You're a lot better taijutsu wise then you were advertised, I'll give you that brat. Still got a ways to go before you could even lick my sandals though." Asuma replied walking towards him. Naruto looked up at him as little bit of blood trickled down from his mouth.

"Thanks for that, I guess." He said allowing a small smile to grace his lips. Asuma chuckled as he picked him up from jacket collar and pulled him to face level.

"Your teammates have been pretty much absent this entire time. Sucks to be the muscle of the group, doesn't it? Don't worry though, you'll be heading back to the academy soon." He said as Naruto simply stared back at him through his unswollen eye as Asuma prepared to launch the final attack.

"Naruto! Pull back now!"

Not needing to be told twice, Naruto smiled in Asuma's face before sending a swift kick to a very important spot. Asuma's eyes widened to huge proportions as the cigarette in his mouth fell out. He fell to the ground, clutching his precious area as Naruto made a B-line back to his teammates.

"Jeez, you've seen better days." Ino said as he came around, getting a glare from the whiskered faced boy. He brushed it off and turned to Shikamaru.

"So what's the plan? What do I have to do?" He asked as Shikamaru simply smiled.

"Nothing, your part is done. All you have to do is sit back and watch the show." He replied as Ino smiled as well before running off to the forestry on their right. Naruto watched curiously trying to see what he meant when he noticed Asuma recovering from his injury.

"That's it, no more taking it easy. I'm sending you damned group of brats back to the academy if it's the last thing I do." He said glaring over at the two boys. Before he could go any further however he noticed Shikamaru digging into his pocket.

"You know, my mom always says this stuff kills people. I guess I should go ahead and dispose of them then." Shikamaru said fishing out a packet of cigarettes. Asuma blinked before he began to frantically search his personnel for his joy. He then looked up at Shikamaru with unfiltered rage.

"I'll kill you."

"Try me."

Asuma charged at the two boys, with Naruto getting more worried by the second at the thought that they might not be sent back to the academy, but to a grave instead.

"Uhh Shikamaru, now's a great time to throw out that plan of yours!" Naruto yelled as Asuma closed in on them.

"It's already in motion, just wait for it." He said, though he was sweating himself. In the forest to the right of them Ino was waiting patiently for the right time.

' _Wait for it...wait for it...wait fo-NOW!'_ She thought pulling on the wire that was in her hand. A trip wire shot up from the grass below, previously hidden from sight. Asuma barely had time to react, but managed to jump high over it at the last minute. That's when Shikamaru sprung into action.

Releasing the set of shuriken he had hidden in his hands, he threw them in the air towards Asuma, though they initially flew right past him. Asuma was about to make a remark about the boy's aim when the shuriken began to circle around him. It was then that he felt a tight pull on his body as the wires attached to the shuriken began to restrict him.

"Got him!" Ino yelled as she hopped out of the bushes. Torso completely wrapped in wire, Asuma fell gracefully towards the ground, where he landed unceremoniously. For added effort, Shikamaru attached a shadow to him as well, just to make sure he couldn't move.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Naruto yelled hoping up to meet Ino who walked over.

"Yeah, I know. I am quite amazing." She said batting her eyelashes at him. Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he stared over at the clock.

' _Not much longer, we just need this too hold for a few seconds and we'll be in the in the clear.'_ He thought.

It was then that he felt a slight change in his shadow technique. Looking back towards Asuma, he swore as he took notice that where he was supposed to be was a log.

"Naruto! Ino! Look out, he manag-"

Before he could finish, Asuma appeared directly in front of him. Shocked, he flinched and closed his eyes to prepare for the pending attack. The pain never came however as another yelp of pain came from out in front of him.

Opening his eyes, he only saw Naruto go flying behind him before a sound interrupted everything.

*DIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG*

The alarm on the clock went off, signaling the five minutes were up. Asuma stopped his assault on Shikamaru when he heard the sound, but a grin was still situated on his face.

"Well, looks like you guys will be spending another year in the academy." He said while Shikamaru and Ino looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean? You didn't get any of us before the timer went off!" Ino said as Asuma's smile only widened. He pointed over to Naruto, who was still laying on the ground emotionless after the last attack.

"I don't care how tough the kid is, he's not getting up from a square punch to the face. That means, I win and you lose." He said, swiping his cigarette cartoon from Shikamaru's hand. He was in the midst of lighten one up when he heard a slight groan come from the other side of the field.

Naruto slowly brought himself to a sitting position, holding his head in his hands. The newly lit cigarette in Asuma's face fell to the ground as the other two looked on in shock as well.

"Oh man, I'm definitely gonna' get Alzheimer's in my old age from that one…" Naruto said, slowly rising to his feet.

"W-wha...H-how did he…His h-head…" Asuma stammered as Ino squealed and ran over to embrace Naruto in a hug.

"Looks like that thick skull of yours finally came in handy for once!" Ino said as she pulled Naruto into a hug, inadvertently choking him. Shikamaru sighed before falling over on to the ground to look up at the sunset.

' _Troublesome.'_ He thought with a small smile gracing his face. Naruto had managed to right himself and move over to where Asuma was standing.

"I guess that means when can officially call you Asuma-sensei, huh?" Naruto said with a grin. His left eye was swollen shut and so was his jaw, yet he was still standing on his feet. Asuma looked down at him before sighing.

"Yeah I guess that does," he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Damn it, you passed. Meet here on Monday to begin your training." He said begrudgingly. With that, he turned and began to walk towards the Hokage's tower, trying to block out the cheering of Naruto and Ino.

' _Still, how did that Nara manage to get his hands on my…'_ Asuma thought before he remembered the shadow he saw while he was fighting Naruto. He turned to look at Shikamaru, who was already seemingly sound asleep.

' _What did I get myself into.'_ He thought as the last of his cigarette burned out. He threw his hand over his shoulder in a lazy wave.

"Yeah yeah. Congratulations, you're now certified to kill."

* * *

 **(Later that evening)**

After the test was over, Naruto and Shikamaru found themselves heading over to the barbecue place Kiba mentioned earlier to celebrate becoming genin. Ino said that she would catch up with them later, wanting to change clothes before the function.

"These bandages are uncomfortable…" Naruto grumbled referring to the half side of his face that was covered up. Shikamaru snorted as the two continued walking.

"No one wants to see your beat up mug while they're eating. I'm surprised you're still walking after that pounding you took." Shikamaru said, a frown coming to his face as he finished. Though he didn't say anything, he was a little bothered by the outcome of that test. He didn't like the fact that Naruto had to take such a beating while him and Ino were basically helpless to boot. He had no idea the blonde haired boy was that strong, and it looked like he had some major catching up to do.

"Troublesome…" he said with a sigh, getting a groan from Naruto.

"Is that all you say?" Naruto replied as the two turned to enter the restaurant. After looking around a bit, they saw Kiba sitting in an area alone, looking forward emotionlessly.

"Hey man, you're the only one here? Where's Sasuke and Sakura?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru sat down beside him. Kiba sighed as he facepalmed his head and began to shake it.

"After our test, that emo bastard turned and ran straight home. I tried to get Sakura to come along but she told me the equivalent of 'piss off' and went looking for him." He replied before tears began to swell in his eyes.

"I don't think I can do it, man. Our sensei is this perverted freak who's always coming late. My teammates are assholes. What did I do to deserve this?" He said, getting a pat on the back from Naruto.

"Well just look at the bright side of things."

"What's that?"

"...I can't think of one right now, but I'm sure there's one there somewhere."

Before Kiba could reach around his neck, Team 8 walked into the section and caught the attention of everyone.

"Hinata-chan, you guys passed huh!" Naruto said grinning as the group sat down. Hinata stammered something that Naruto couldn't hear while twiddling with her fingers, prompting Naruto to scratch his head as he squinted his eyes at her.

"What was that? I couldn't I quite hear you." He said, turning his head to Shino as he coughed to get his attention.

"We did pass our test Naruto-san, though we were quite surprised to find that there was one in the first place." He said fixing his glasses.

"Yeah, we were surprised too. I'm telling you, Asuma-sensei is crazy strong. We almost didn't make it and he wasn't even going all out." Naruto said pointing to the bandaged side of his face for reference.

"Can we start ordering now, I'm starving." Choji said enthusiastically waving the waiter over.

"I know you weren't going to start the party without me, the nerve!"

Everyone looked up to see Ino walk into the room. She pushed Naruto and Shikamaru apart, plopping down in the middle of them. She looked over the people present before turning towards Kiba.

"Where's Sasuke-kun and forehead?" She asked raising an eyebrow. Naruto answered in his stead however.

"Kiba said that they went home after the te- Oi! Choji that's my piece!" He yelled as Choji took one of the pieces he was cooking on the grill. Ino sighed as she looked over her outfit.

"I was hoping Sasuke-kun would see me in this…" she said frowning. Kiba got a glint in his eye as he looked her over.

"I think you look great." He said raising his eyebrows at her. She briefly glanced over at him before turning to put some meat on her plate.

"Thanks dog boy."

"Ok that's it! I'm sick of the disrespect I'm getting around here damn it!" Kiba yelled jumping up from the table. Naruto looked up at him with a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth before turning back to the grill.

"Your fly's open." He replied flippantly. Kiba blushed before sitting back down and returning to his food. The entire table erupted into laughter, even Akamaru much to his owner's grief. Naruto saw Sakura come into the restaurant out of the corner of his eye.

"Oi, Sakura-chan! Over here!" He yelled waving her over. She looked around for the source of the voice before smiling as she caught sight of them.

"Where's the one with the stick up his ass?" Naruto asked as she took a seat.

"Naruto, don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that! And I couldn't find him after the test with Kakashi-sensei. I looked all over." She said with a disappointed look in her eyes. Naruto blinked at her before sliding a plate over her way.

"Don't worry about it, maybe he was tired. Here, eat up Sakura-chan!" He replied getting the pink haired girl to shake her hands in response.

"I really shouldn't, I'm on a diet after all." She said. Naruto snorted and pointed over to Ino.

"You don't need to worry about that. Look at Ino-chan over there, she's stuffing her face and she's got a killer body figure." Naruto said before a fist found its way into his face.

"I was not stuffing my face! Though I do appreciate the other half of that comment..." She said with a blush. Once again the table was filled with laughter, bringing a grin to Naruto's face.

Though he wouldn't admit it, this was most fun he'd ever had in his entire life.

* * *

 **(The next day)**

Waking up to his alarm, Naruto sighed as he crawled out of his bed and onto the floor. He shivered at the cool touch and groggily opened his eyes. Yawning, he stood up and made his way over to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

While most of the other genin would no doubt be sleeping off yesterday's festivities, he had to get ready for his early morning training sessions with Anko. Besides, she promised him an awesome present the day he became a genin.

After cleaning himself up for the day and eating a scarce breakfast, he began to make his way over to the training ground by the forest of death. It was ironically the place where the two first met, and where they decide he would receive his training at. Walking into the middle of the field, he looked around only to find that there was no sight of her anywhere.

' _I would try to take a nap but last time I did that I woke up covered in snakes.'_ He thought shivering at the memory.

Taking a seat in the field, he took to staring up at the clouds absentmindedly. It was a habit he had picked up from Shikamaru, and he had to say he enjoyed it a lot. His vision was interrupted however by the grinning face of Konoha's snake mistress staring down at him.

"Good morning gaki!" Anko said as Naruto stood up.

"It was until my beautiful view was interrupted…" Naruto said turning to face Anko. She frowned at him before giving a slight pout.

"I thought you found your Anko-chan quite attractive? Was I wrong?" She said leaning over a little to emphasize her cleavage. Naruto didn't say anything, but the dribble of blood coming from his nose was enough for anyone to come to a conclusion on his thoughts.

"Can we get to training already?" He mumbled looking away with a blush. Anko smiled before wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"Don't you want to get your gift first?" She asked, Naruto eyes going wide at the mention of it. He didn't take notice of the mischievous glint in the woman's eyes.

"Now before you get it, I believe there's something you forgot to do this morning?" She said crossing her arms over her chest. Naruto scratched his head as he thought over what she could mean. His face dropped when he realized what it was.

"No way."

"You sure? I mean I sure would hate for this totally awesome gift to go to waste…"

"I'm not doing it."

"That Uchiha kid made genin as well right? Maybe he should be the one to get this gift…"

"You're not going to make me…"

"I mean he IS the last Uchiha after all, it might be wasted on someone like you…"

"Fine!" Naruto yelled walking back a few steps. Anko grinned before clapping her hands together.

"Great, let's hear it then!" She said looking at the boy expectantly. Naruto fidgeted in place before sighing and resigning to his fate.

"Thank you Anko-sama, for blessing me with your incredibly precious time and divine wisdom. You truly are the epitome of all woman, and we should all strive to live in your holy image. All hail the goddess Anko-sama!" He finished getting on his knees and bowing to her. His face turned red as he could hear her trying unsuccessfully to hold in her laughing.

"T-that was great gaki, excellent job." She said in between giggles. "Welp, let's go get your gift." She said turning to walk out of the training ground. Naruto looked up from his position on the ground.

"You mean you didn't get it yet?" He said glaring daggers at her. She simply continued to walk away while whistling to herself. Naruto gritted his teeth before getting up to follow after her.

"Well you see, I was going to get you something you could use in combat, like a sword for ref-"

"You're getting me a sword?!"

"I was going to say for reference brat!" She yelled, Naruto recoiling at the volume. "Anyways, I figured it would be better if you picked whatever you want out yourself. It's going to be yours to use anyways."

With that turned onto a busy street full of shops and markets. Anko led Naruto to a small shop on the end of the street, Naruto looking up at the sign as they walked in.

' _Higurashi's weapon shop, never heard of it.'_ He thought as they walked inside.

"Welcome!" A girl behind the counter called as the two walked in. "Did you come for your regular kunai set up today Anko-san?" She said as she moved around the counter to greet the two. Naruto took a quick look over if her.

' _She's cute.'_ He thought with a slight blush on his face.

"Nah, that can wa-actually...Nah! That can wait until later." She said pointing over towards Naruto. "I'm here to get a weapon for my little guy over here."

"Hey, I'm not little!" Naruto yelled getting a laugh from Anko. Sure he was the shortest of his class, but so what? His growth spurt was just a little late, it would come any day now.

"Weapon? So you're a ninja then?" The twin bun haired girl asked raising an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Yeah, I just became a genin officially yesterday." He said scratching his head and looking away. He was a little embarrassed to have her sole attention, if only for the moment.

"Really? Well I'm a genin as well, the name's Tenten Higurashi." She said extending a hand out to the blonde haired boy. He took it and gave it a small shake.

"Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage." He replied formally, getting a small giggle from the girl.

"Well then _future Hokage,_ what are you interested in? These are most of our specialized weapons here on this wall." She said showing him to a wall of weapons in the back of the store. Naruto looked over everything he saw in a thoughtful pose.

' _Swords, fans, arm braces, clawed hands, machetes...hell is that a chainsaw?!'_ He thought staring at the wall in amazement.

"I didn't know there were so many weapons for a shinobi to use." Naruto replied staring at the wall still in a state of awe.

"That's cause you don't get out much." Anko replied, Naruto choosing to ignore her. He walked over and picked up a katana off the wall. He gave it a few test swings before shaking his head and putting it back.

"I don't know, nothing seems right to me…" he said looking back over the wall with a frown. It was then that something fell off the wall, knock loosed from when Naruto was putting the sword back. Picking it up, he gave it a quick look over before turning to Tenten.

"What's this?" He said twirling it in his hand.

"That? It's a specialized tanto blade." She said as Naruto continued to look it over. "It's actually one of my father's creations, it's not even supposed to be out here..."

Naruto examined it a little more. It was a matte black color all the way through, and from what Naruto knew it looked to be a little longer than your average tanto, probably a specific design choice. The red ribbon like string secured at the end was the only colorful addition it held. He nodded to himself before looking up at Tenten with a grin.

"I'll take it!" He said, getting a surprised look from the bun hairs girl.

"Really? I don't even know if I'm supposed to be selling it but...eh, I'll explain it to him later." Tenten said taking the blade and grabbing a sheath from underneath the counter.

"You two finished yet? I'm starving." Anko said walking up to the counter. She looked at the blade on the table before turning to Naruto.

"Sure you wont cut your privates off with that gaki?" She asked pointing towards it. Tick marks formed on Naruto's head as Tenten held in her laugh.

"No." He answered glaring over at her. Anko looked it over before handing over the money needed to pay for it to Tenten.

"Whatever you say, there you go gaki. Don't say I never did anything for you. Now let's go get some dango, I'm starving. You're paying by the way." She said heading for exit. Naruto threw the pole around his back before following after her. He stopped at the exit and turned around back towards counter.

"See you around Tenten-chan!" He said before running out. Tenten stared at the door for a moment in slight shock before raising an eyebrow

"Chan?"

* * *

 **(Later that day)**

After eating dango with Anko, Naruto found himself wondering around aimlessly after she was called up for an unexpected mission. He was drifting around the shopping district when he heard someone call out to him.

"Hey, Naruto! Over here!"

Turning around, Naruto squinted down the street at the small figure calling him over.

"Ino-chan? Sakura-chan?" He said making his way over towards them.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing out here?" Sakura asked as he walked up towards them.

"I was actually just out for a walk, what about you guys?" He said taking note of Ino's miffed look.

"I was trying to introduce forehead here into some new clothes, but she insists on walking around looking like someone's nanny." She said getting a glare from Sakura.

"Well excuse me if I like to dress with some class, Ino-buta. I'd say Sasuke-kun prefers my choice of dressing." She said looking away.

"Oh yeah? That must be why he never pays you any attention."

"Hey! He doesn't give you the time of the day either!"

Naruto sweat dropped as he looked around for a reason to leave. Not finding one, he decided to just nonchalantly walk off without attracting attention. He was almost out of the red zone before he got caught.

"Naruto? Where are you going?"

Ino waved him back over, and he sighed as he resigned to his fate.

"You know I was thinking that since we're going to be on the same team, you're going to need a change of clothes." She said looking at his outfit in disgust.

"I happen to like my orange sweat suit, thank you very much." He replied to her with a frown. That's when Sakura began to chime in.

"I don't know, I think you would look good in a change of clothes Naruto." Sakura said with a head nod for extra effort.

"Really? You think so Sakura-chan? Well I guess it couldn't hurt to look around…" Naruto said with a blush. Ino stared at him blankly before narrowing her eyes and turning around.

"I see. Well, let's get this makeover over with." She said leading him into a store. Naruto spent the next hour or so being a dress up doll as Ino and Sakura tried an array of different clothes on him. After the fifth store, they finally settled on something they all liked.

He wore a black jacket with a small orange lining running up the arm sleeves and the middle of the jacket. He also sported an orange spiral on his back. His pants were black with orange lining as well, and he finished it off with a pair of black sandals.

"Yup, all black definitely suits you well Naruto. Though we could've done without the orange altogether." Ino replied standing back and looking at his new look with approval.

"Orange is the best color ever, there's no way I could go completely without it." He said looking himself over as well. He had to admit, he did like the new look as well. He looked over at the clock on the wall and swore as he swung his power pole back over his shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ino asked as the boy ran towards the door.

"I gotta' go met Iruka-sensei for some ramen! I'll see you at the training ground tomorrow Ino-chan, bye Sakura-chan!" He yelled before running down the street, Ino and Sakura staring after him until he disappeared.

"Honestly it's like he's a bundle of unfiltered energy." Ino said a little annoyed that he left so abruptly. "Like who wouldn't want to spend the day with us, were two total catches!"

Sakura laughed half heartedly at her declaration as the two turned to go the opposite way.

On the other end of the street, Naruto ran pass Ichiraku's ramen and continued towards the Hokage's office. After being allowed up to the floor of his office, he stared at the the door from the outside for a moment before finally going in. The Hokage looked up as he entered and smiled.

"Ah Naruto-kun, I was wondering where you were. Now, you said that there was something you wanted to speak with me about?" He replied leaning back in his chair slightly. He gazed intently at Naruto, who glanced down at the floor before looking at up him to meet his gaze

"Hokage-sama." He said, causing Hiruzen too look at him in surprise because of how he addressed him.

"I have a few questions about the night the Kyuubi attacked Konoha."

* * *

 **AN: Like that cliffhanger action? Yeah you do. In regards to the pairings some of you have asked about all I can say is...eh. I'm still working that part out, so bear with me on that. No harems though, I hate harems. Anyways, until next time.**


	6. Finding Your Way

**Chapter 6: Finding Your Way**

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he pushed the cart containing stacks of lumber to the shed and dropped them off. It had been a little over a month since team 10 had been established, and as he suspected the entire thing was a huge headache. He had heard about the mundaneness of D rank jobs, but to experience it first hand was something entirely different.

There was also the situation with Naruto. Ever since they first met as a team for training after taking the test, he seemed entirely different as a person. In contrast to the loud and bashful blonde they had come to know, he had been rather quiet and reserved in his actions. After missions and training was over, he would seemingly head straight home, and he didn't really say much even when he was with them.

He could tell this was bothering Ino as well, as he often caught her staring at him with a concerned looked. She would even try to provoke him into an argument every now and then, but he would only ignore her and continue on with whatever he was doing. Sighing, Shikamaru dropped off the logs before heading out to meet with the rest of his team.

"Alright, good job today you guys." Asuma said smiling as Shikamaru walked up. "This was some pretty exerting work so we'll take it easy on the training today. Follow me to the training ground."

"It's already getting late and we still have training? It's Friday for crying out loud!" Ino pouted as they followed after Asuma.

"Time stops for no man Ino. That's what my old man always told me." Asuma replied over his shoulder. Naruto stopped walking for a minute and looked up before turning around and running back towards the farm.

"I left my power tanto at the farm, I'll meet you guys at the training grounds!" He yelled as the group looked back at him. Ino frowned before turning towards Asuma.

"Asuma-sensei, don't you think Naruto's been acting weird lately? Do you think something happened?" She asked as Asuma continued walking. He scratched the back of his head as he looked back at her.

"I've known you guys for all of a month, so as far as I'm concerned he's been himself this entire time. If you think something's wrong, why don't you ask him?" The bearded man said as Ino crossed her arms around her chest.

"Well I mean what if it's something personal? I don't want to be insensitive…" she replied. Asuma shrugged before staring ahead again.

"Then don't ask him, simple as that." He replied nodding his head. Ino glared at him while Shikamaru gave him a deadpanned stare.

"Thank you for your oh so great words of wisdom, Asuma-sensei." She said sarcastically, getting the man to smile down at her.

"Anytime my great pupil, anytime." He replied. _'Man, I'm getting pretty good at this whole teaching thing.'_

The group finally made it to the training ground and waited for Naruto to return. He did so shortly after they arrived, blade in tow. With that, Asuma stood and clapped his hands together to gain their attention.

"Alright brats listen up, after spending a week with you all I think I have a decent idea of where you stand." He said, first putting his focus on Shikamaru.

"As expected of Shikaku's son, your strength is definitely in your brains and strategies. While you're not terrible at fighting and could probably stand your ground decently, your stamina and strength do leave a lot to be desired. I'll have to work with you on that." He said, Shikamaru grunting in acknowledgment. He then turned over to Ino.

"You're stamina and fighting need some work as well, though surprisingly I think you're a bit further ahead in that category than Shikamaru. While I can you help there, were I think you'll truly shine is as a supporting member. Some long to mid range ninjutsu, a little poison and genjutsu training, hell maybe even some medical training. I can't help you there, but I've got someone in mind who can. She might even help with your taijutsu a little." He said with a little glint in his eyes. Ino swallowed a knot that had formed in her throat, not liking that look.

"Finally, the bundle of energy that is you Naruto. You're a fighter, there's no doubt about that. Your taijutsu and stamina are well beyond that of a normal genin. If we could just refine your technique a little and add some speed into your arsenal, you'll be a real problem to deal with. As for weaknesses, well, you know that you suck at genjutsu. We've also got to work on sharpening up that mind of yours." He said, getting a nod from Naruto.

"With all that being said, I think you guys might be ready for your first C-rank mission." He said with a smile as both Naruto and Ino's eyes lit up at this information.

"Really Asuma-sensei? Isn't it kind of early?" Ino asked. Asuma exhaled a little smoke before shrugging his shoulders.

"Could be, however you guys have already showed me you've got a pretty good team chemistry, which is what these D-rank missions are used to build." He said with his team smiling at the praise. "No need to drag them out longer than necessary."

"So when are we taking the mission?" Shikamaru asked with a slight frown. If it was a C-rank then theoretically it would be harder than a D-rank, and he wasn't exactly thrilled at having more work to do.

"It'll be the end of next week, that'll give you guys some time to prepare since we'll likely be leaving the village." He said looking at the Nara. "Any other questions?"

Seeing as no one else said anything, Asuma smiled before turning to walk away.

"You guys have the weekend off so enjoy it. Next Monday it's back to the D-ranks." He said dismissing the team. Naruto got up to leave when Ino grabbed onto his jacket.

"Hold on their buckaroo, what's the rush? We were all thinking of getting together later tonight, why don't you come along?" She asked. Naruto glanced at her before looking away and taking his arm from her grip.

"Sorry, I've got something to do." He said before walking off, leaving a worried Ino looking after him.

"Something's definitely wrong with him…" she said with Shikamaru nodding his head to show agreement.

"Lets just give him a little space, he'll probably come out of it on his own. This is Naruto we're talking about after all." Shikamaru said as the boy disappeared into the trees.

Meanwhile, Naruto was lost inside of his own thoughts as he robotically made his way over to the library. Ever since his conversation with the Hokage and learning that he was in fact the Kyuubi's container, he was having trouble collecting his thoughts.

His suspicions arose during the incident with Mizuki, when he called him the 'Kyuubi brat'." At first he was confused as to what the man meant, and brushed it off as being nothing. The words stuck with him however and he couldn't help but think of them from time to time.

Eventually this led to a curiosity about the Kyuubi as a whole and he began to do some research on the demon, but couldn't really find anything of value. That was, until he found a book about these creatures called biju's and learned that the Kyuubi was one of them. The most interesting fact he learned however was that biju's couldn't be killed, since they were essentially beings of chakra, which led him to another question.

How did the fourth deal with the Kyuubi?

The academy only taught them that the fourth beat it, and never really went into detail about how it happened. The book he read didn't really go any further than a basic explanation of what they were. That's when his thoughts went back to one of the jutsus he read in the forbidden scroll. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal. After doing a little research on that, it was obvious then that the fourth had to have sealed it away somewhere, likely using that technique. But where did he seal it? Naruto had his suspicions, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure. He theorized that he was somehow involved but couldn't put together the finalizing piece. This led to his conversation with the Third Hokage.

And the revelation that he in fact was the one the demon was sealed into.

Ever since he learned the truth, he had been in an awkward state of limbo in terms of emotions. He shuffled from being angry, shocked, depressed, and confused, until he was left with only one feeling.

Emptiness.

And so he decided to distance himself from the others. The whispers and mumblings he heard from the villagers were now much more clearer. For years he had wanted to know what was the reason for how they treated him and now that he did, he found himself wishing he didn't.

Lost in his thoughts, Naruto didn't realize he had stumbled over by the forest of death. He was in the training ground that him and Anko used, though she had been gone the entire week still away on her previous mission. Naruto walked into the middle of the field and laid down. He looked up at the sky, slowly turning dark in the nighttime and gradually drifted off to sleep.

He awoken later having no idea what the time was. The only reason he had woke up in the first place was that he heard the yawning of someone else in his sleep. Turning to see who it was, his eyes widened as they locked with a pair of light brown ones that stared down at him intently. Anko gave him a slight grin before stretching from her sitting position.

"Had a nice sleep gaki? You know it's dangerous to do that out here don't you? Some of the creatures in that forest like to go for walks if you know what I mean." She said as Naruto stood up. He stared down at her for a moment before finally speaking.

"Spar with me."

Anko looked up and and stared into the boy's eyes again. She was about to make a remark about how they hadn't seen each other in forever and the first thing he wanted to was fight, but stopped when she noticed the look he was giving. She watched him for a few more moments before getting up to her feet as well.

Naruto wasted no time and charged directly at her, sending a punch towards her side. Anko quickly jumped backwards and continued to do so as Naruto threw punch after punch in her direction. She then caught a particularly sloppy one and pulled the boy in close, launching a knee into his stomach. Naruto grunted as he was sent backwards, this time Anko chasing after him.

She hit him with a barrage of quick jabs and kicks, all of them connecting before sending one heavy blow at the end. Naruto yelped in pain as he was sent flying into a tree, having his air time painfully broken with the impact. He shakily got up to his feet and scanned the area in search of the snake mistress. That's when she dropped down from above and wrapped her legs around his head.

Twisting her body so that her palms landed on the ground, she used her legs to fling the boy down the field and crashing into the ground.

Naruto broke into a roll upon impact and quickly righted himself before charging back towards her, calling on two shadow clones for assistance. The two clones went on either side of her while Naruto charged down the middle, forcing Anko into a corner.

Sliding two shuriken down her sleeves, Anko launched two at the clones on her side to dispel them. She threw a third at the real Naruto's shoulder, hitting him straight on. She swore as he disappeared in a puff and looked around the field for the real one. That's when Naruto bursted from the tree lines behind her and sent a kick towards her back, connecting but failing ultimately when she was replaced with a log.

He heard her coming from behind and quickly turned to block a kick towards the chest. He jumped back and threw a slew of shurikens her way as he tried to place some distance between the two. Anko jumped to the side in order to dodge them and pointed her sleeve in his direction. A decent sized snake shoot out of her arm and wrapped around Naruto, who struggled to break free. Anko appeared in front of him and uppercutted him out of the snakes grip.

Naruto landed on the ground hard, and had a hard time getting back to his feet. He didn't have any much time to rest though, as he felt a grip on the back of his jacket and was soon swung across the field again. He managed to land on his feet, only to catch a swift strike to the gut that knocked the wind out of him. he coughed up a little blood and bended over to catch his breath. He looked up to look for Anko only to find that she had disappeared.

He was once again lifted into the air with a hard kick into the back, and watched helplessly as Anko jumped up to meet him and sent another kick into his stomach, sending him crashing back to the ground. He landed hard and with nothing to break his fall, coughing up a little more blood on impact. Anko landed on top of him, crouched over and with a kunai pressed against his neck.

She looked down at him and noticed the blood trickling from his mouth. What shocked her most though was the glistening in his eyes and streaks flowing from them.

He had been crying.

Loosening her grip on him, she slowly stood up off of him as he simply laid there and stared into the night sky. A moment of silence passed before either one of them spoke, Naruto being the one to break it.

"Did you know?" He asked simply, not taking his eyes off the sky or bothering to wipe away the tear stains on his face.

"Know what, gaki?" She replied still staring down at him. For a split second, it looked as though Naruto's eyes had flashed red and his whole body had tensed up, but it went as fast as it came and Anko chalked it up to being her imagination.

"That I was the Kyuubi's container." He said still not looking away from the sky. Anko's eyes widened before they softened a little as she took a seat next to the blonde haired boy and looked up into the sky as well.

"So they finally told you, huh? I figured it was only going to be a matter of time. And for the record, yes gaki, I did know." She said with a faint smile on her face. Naruto glanced over at her with a look that even she couldn't read, which slightly scared her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He said, his look still stony but a slight waver in his voice. Anko continued to watch the stars as the conversation went on.

"The entire village was sworn to secrecy on the matter. Even speaking of it was considered to be a crime as serious as treason. The Third put that law in place not long after word began to spread about you." She said recalling the day it happened. Looking over, she noticed he had turn back to look at the stars and the two sat in silence for a while.

"I don't know what to think." Naruto said after a while. "This is a lot to take in."

"I would imagine gaki. How long have you known?" She asked with a chuckle, moving herself into a more comfortable position.

"About a month now." He said getting a shocked look from Anko.

"You've known for an entire month and you're still moping around here like that emo Uchiha kid? Jeez, and I thought I had you figured better than that." She said, getting a slight angry look from Naruto.

"Hey, I'm not moping around, and don't ever compare me to Sasuke! I was nowhere near that bad!" He yelled moving into a sitting position. Anko scoffed before looking over at the boy.

"Oh please, the atmosphere when I got here was worse than that of the teenage drama section in a bookstore. Hey, guess who I am." She said scrunching her face up into a serious position. "Spar with me."

With that, she began to laugh uncontrollably and fell over. Naruto stared at her with a blush that was slowly getting deeper.

"Oi, shut up! I've been through alot this past month, don't judge me!" He said getting Anko to only laugh harder.

"Obviously this lot you're talking about wasn't training, because I just wiped the floor with your sorry ass." She said slowly righting herself. Naruto glared at her before a smile slowly found it's way on his face. Eventually he couldn't hold it back and the two were both laughing uncontrollably. After a while Anko righted herself and stood up.

"Well gaki, I'm beat. It's two in the morning and I haven't had a good sleep in a week so I think I'm going to turn in. Think you'll be ok alone without offing yourself?" She said getting another glare from the blonde haired boy.

"I told you I wasn't that bad." He mumbled, getting a grin from Anko.

"Great! I'll see you later then gaki." She said before turning around to leave. She stopped halfway and turned around to address him again.

"Almost forgot, I got you a little a gift while I was out." She said tossing him something. Naruto caught it before staring down at the small object, his face going blank as he looked it over.

It was a fox keychain.

He looked up to see that Anko had already left and that he was alone. Pocketing the chain, Naruto himself turned to leave with a small smile present on his face.

"I hate that psychotic woman."

* * *

 **(Next Monday)**

After spending the rest of the weekend recovering both physically and mentally, Naruto was making his way over towards the Hokage tower to meet up with his team. On the way in, he passed a guy who was arguing with the front desk lady about an arranged appointment he had.

' _He reeks of booze.'_ Naruto thought as he made his way up to the mission assignment room. Going inside, he saw that Ino was the only one present and took a seat next to her.

"Good morning Ino-chan." He said with a yawn. The girl looked at him in surprise for a moment before a small smile graced her face.

"Well someone's in a good mood today, Something happen?" She said as Naruto looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean, this is how I always am." He said. Ino scoffed before turning forward.

"Oh please, you've been down in the dumps for the past month or so and everyone knows it. Kiba said it was just your time of the month." She replied getting Naruto to scratch his head embarrassingly.

"It was that obvious? Well, lets just say I had a small problem on my mind that had me out of the loop for awhile. No need to worry though, the best ninja on this team is back up and running!" Naruto said as Ino rolled her eyes at his declaration. Still, she frowned as she looked over at him again.

"You know, we're a team now. If you have problems, you can come to us for help." She said as Naruto simply stared forward. He had an unreadable expression on his face that turned into a smile.

"Thanks Ino-chan." He said. She smiled back at him and began to catch him up on all the gossip he missed while he was in his funk. The two were interrupted by the arrival of Shikamaru and Asuma, both taking there sweet time strolling over.

"About time you two arrived!" Ino yelled jumping out of her seat. "Let's get these missions over with."

Walking up towards the table, Iruka smiled at the group as he shuffled through the available missions.

"Alright guys, you can choose from helping with construction on the Northern gate, the cleaning of the Hokage monument thanks to a certain _someone._ " He said looking over at Naruto.

"Oi, I was teaching Konohamaru an important lesson on stealth and efficiency! You should be thanking me…" he grumbled objectively, getting a head shake from the Hokage. He still regretted the day he let those two meet.

"...whatever helps you sleep at night Naruto. Anyways, the last job available is catching Tora, we think she might of ran away again." Iruka finished up, the group of kids flinching at the mention of the cat from hell. None of the mission were particularly interesting, even for D-ranks. It was then that the door to the room opened up and a elderly man walked into the room.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, you wouldn't have happened to found a team for my job yet would you?" The man asked getting Naruto to scrunch his nose up.

' _Booze. This is the same guy from earlier.'_ Naruto thought as the man moved to stand next to them.

"No Tazuna-san, I still haven't found a suitable team for you. You'll just have to wait a little longer." He said. Tazuna mumbled something under his breath and turned to leave before Naruto spoke up.

"What's the mission?" He asked, pinching his nose close. Iruka shuffled through the scrolls until he found the particular one in question.

"It's a C-rank escort mission. Escorting him to the land of the waves, watching over the building of his bridge, and then returning back." Iruka said looking up to the group. Naruto turned to Asuma and nudged him in the side.

"Hey Asuma, how about we take it?" He asked. Asuma glanced down at the boy before shrugging his shoulders.

"Sure, why not?" He said as Iruka's jaw hit the floor.

"What do you mean sure why not?! They've only been genin's for a couple weeks, do you really believe they're ready for a C-rank mission?" Iruka asked standing up from his desk. The Hokage looked at his son intently before speaking his mind as well.

"Do you truly believe they are ready?" He asked Asuma, who only nodded in response. The Hokage sighed, before standing up himself.

"Very well then, you may take the mission. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a council meeting to get to. I'll leave the rest to you, Iruka-san." He said leaving out. He took notice of how Naruto was still avoiding looking at him, and sighed again as exited the room. Asuma turned around to address his team.

"Alright guys we'll be leaving in one hour, is that fine with you Tazuna-san?" He asked looking at the gray haired man who nodded in response. Asuma returned it as his team left out of the room.

"Make sure you guys pack accordingly, we could be out of the village for a decent amount of time." He said before disappearing in a shunshin.

"Wow, a C-rank mission, I can't wait!" Naruto exclaimed as the group moved down the hallway. On the way out they bumped into team 7, with Kiba sending a grin Naruto's way.

"Hey man, still on your period?" He asked as Naruto shot him a glare. It was soon replaced with a big grin as Naruto threw his hands behind his head.

"Say whatever you want dog breath, but guess who's going outside the village on a C-rank mission." Naruto boasted, getting Kiba's jaw to drop. He turned towards his sensei with pleading eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, we can take a C-rank mission as well right? I'm mean if they're getting one then I know we're ready for it!" He yelled as the silver haired man simply continued reading his book. He looked up from it a moment later, giving Kiba his attention.

"Hm? Did you say something?" He said as Kiba's face dropped to a blank state. Naruto looked up at their sensei with a curious expression.

' _So this is Kakashi-san? I have to admit, he looks pretty cool. I wonder what Anko was talking about saying he was the worst of the worst.'_ Naruto thought as he continued to evaluate the man. He had heard a lot about him, both good and bad.

"Well, come along team, the D-ranks aren't going to do themselves." Kakashi said leading the group further down the hall. Ino, who had been distracting Sasuke and Sakura the entire time, bid her crush farewell as they went into the mission room. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a short head nod as they passed each other.

"So I guess we'll meet up at the gate in one hour?" She said as the trio finally made it outside. Naruto stretched before looking off down the street.

"That's just enough time for a couple bowls of Ichiraku's ramen." Naruto said with a smile. Ino's eye twitched while Shikamaru looked up towards the sky.

"I think I'm going to catch a quick nap." He said before the two walked off towards their respective goals for the hour. Ino stood their, eye twitching even further, before she began to make her way home.

"How this team manages to function I'll never know." She muttered.

* * *

 **(Later)**

Naruto made his way to the gate after eating his fill and packing his bag. On his way he ran into Shikamaru, who looked as if he had been forced out of the house judging by his appearance. As they came closer they saw that Asuma and Ino were already waiting, along with the bridge builder.

"Well well, look what the cat dragged in." Asuma commented as the two joined them. "You two ready to roll?"

Naruto nodded and with that the group began to make their way out of the village. Asuma stood up front while Ino and Shikamaru flanked Tazuna on both of his sides. Naruto brought up the rear to finish off their simple formation.

"So how long will it take us to reach the land of the waves?" Naruto asked the bridge builder.

"Hmm, judging by the pace we're going now it'll likely take no more than a day, maybe two." He replied. Naruto nodded at this information and continued to look around his surroundings, taking full advantage of his first time being outside the village walls.

Five hours into the walk, the group were continuing on when Naruto spotted something on the road ahead. Squinting his eyes, Naruto looked closely before seeing that it was puddle in the road.

' _It hasn't rained lately though, could somebody have spilled something…'_ He thought. He looked a little longer before blinking and shaking his head.

' _I'm getting suspicious over a puddle, I must really be bored.'_ He concluded before staring forward again. As the group passed it up, Naruto's uneasiness began to creep back in his mind. He definitely felt like he was sensing something in the area.

He was about to speak up when suddenly two guys appeared from the water on the road. They threw a set of chains around Asuma, who couldn't react quick enough and got caught up inside of them. Or so they thought.

Asuma disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the two masked ninja's in shock. Naruto was frozen for a minute as well before his mind kicked into gear. Slipping out a kunai, he charged at the one still in the air and tried to stab him through his chest. The masked man reacted however and blocked his attack with his gauntlet, pulling his chain back to try and catch Naruto by surprise. It manage to slash a decent gash onto the side of his face, but Naruto dodged most of it.

Naruto used his momentum to flip over behind the man. Putting his feet on his back, he kicked off and sent the assailant flying back down to the ground, where he crashed into the trunk of a tree and landed motionless. Naruto was about to follow up his attack when he heard a scream to his right.

Looking over, he saw the other attacker had Ino held hostage with a kunai to her neck. Naruto stopped mid charge and glared at the man.

"Let Ino-chan go!" He yelled, getting the man's attention.

"You're not in the position to be making demands brat, especially after what you did to my brother. Now stand back and girly here doesn't get her pretty little neck cut open." He replied. Naruto gritted his teeth as the man tightened his grip around Ino. She was about to cry out again when a hand shot out from the ground below them and grabbed at his leg.

"What the-" He yelled before his body was dragged into ground, Asuma popping up in the process. Ino dropped to the ground, grabbing at her neck and gasping for air. Naruto sighed with relief, but tensed up again when he felt something behind him.

Turning around, Naruto froze as a gauntlet prepared to impale him through his chest. The attack was stopped right before it reached him however, Naruto looking on in confusing as his opponent seemed to freeze in place for no apparent reason.

"Would it kill you too pay attention to your surroundings? A little later and I wouldn't have made it in time." Shikamaru said as held the guy in place using his shadow technique. Asuma walked over with the other guy tied up, preparing to do the same with this one.

"Well, that was...sloppy at best." He said finishing up the restraints. He tied the two up to a tree before turning back to his team.

"It wasn't the prettiest thing I've seen that's for sure. You guys didn't really work together, your focus was all over the place, and to top it off none of you even bothered to think about our client. Maybe you weren't ready for this after all" He said, the team staying silent in response.

Naruto gritted his teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, Asuma was right. They were completely unprepared, and he hadn't even thought of protecting Tazuna like it was his job to do. He was way to focused on the battle, he wasn't thinking straight.

"Still though," Asuma said with a sigh. "None of you are dead so that's a plus, and to your credit these two are actual shinobi who typically aren't apart of C-ranks, so we'll just consider this an experience."

Team berating finished, he moved over to his two prisoners, only one of which was currently awake. He crouched down in front of them, absentmindedly playing with the lighter in his hand.

"Now then, if I recall correctly you two are known as the demon brothers correct? Gozu and Meizu?" He asked lighting a cigarette. "What could you possibly gain from attacking us? That seemed far too well planned to be you regular bandit setup.

Gozu, the one brother that was awake, said nothing and simply stared into Asuma's face. The bearded man sighed before taking in a deep hit. Exhaling slowly, ash poured from out of his mouth and covered the two brothers completely. He lit up his lighter again, this time placing it close to Gozu's face who started struggle in response.

"Care to rethink that silence of yours bud?" He asked with a grin. Gozu looked at him and back down at the lighter in front of his face.

"A-alright, I'll talk! We were sent her for the bridge builder, Tazuna! By a man named Gato!" He yelled, Asuma staring down at him intensely. After he concluded that the man wasn't lying, he let out a heavy sigh and stood to his feet.

"Alright, you two are going to stay right here until some forces come to pick you up. And as for you," he said turning to Tazuna. "Care to explain why a man like Gato is sending qualified ninja after you?"

Tazuna buckled under Asuma's harsh gaze. He stumbled over his words for a while before finally getting them out. He told them the story of how Gato moved in with his company and shut off all trading within the wave, restricting it so that everything went through him.

"That's why it's so important that I finish this bridge, I have to use it to bring my land out of the state it's in! You have to help me, please!" He begged on his knees. Naruto was moved, and found himself steaming at the thought of this Gato guy.

"Asuma-sensei, we have to help them." He said looking up at him. Asuma glanced down at the boy before looking forward in thought. He looked over towards Shikamaru and Ino, who were both listening to the conversation intently as well.

"What do you two think about this? This mission is shaping out to be more than we were asking for. We can head back you know, there's no shame in doing so." He said. Ino simply shook her head as she stepped forward.

"We can't leave them as they are sensei, it sounds like they're in serious trouble. He's already been waiting for a while to get a team for the job, who knows how long they can hold out. I say we take it." She said, standing next to Naruto who looked on with a smile. Shikamaru sighed before the joining up with the two as well.

"Troublesome, but I can't leave these two idiots alone in good conscious. Besides, I haven't been walking for five hours just for it to be for nothing." He replied ducking under Naruto's attempt to wrap his arm around his shoulder. Asuma sighed before turning back towards Tazuna.

"I guess you're lucky my brats are in a helping mode. Come on, we're moving on with the mission. How much longer until we get to this port you were speaking of?" He asked.

"It should be no longer than an hour, less if we hurry." He said getting up to his feet.

"Then let's get a move on." Asuma said as the group began to walk again. True to what Tazuna said, they reached the port in a little over an hour and were currently making preparations to travel over. Naruto keep himself occupied by playing cards with the other workers, looking up when Shikamaru came over towards him.

"Asuma-sensei said we're going to stay here for the night since it's getting late. They've giving us a cabin to stay in so we'll have some shelter." He said as Naruto stood up from his sitting place.

"Great, I could use some sleep anyways." He replied stretching. Shikamaru scoffed and turned to head back with Naruto following.

"Well you're not going to get a lot of that, we're leaving early in the morning. I mean _really_ early, like three in the morning type early." Shikamaru drawled, looking more depressed as he went on. Naruto groaned as the two made their way into the cabin.

"It's already eleven at night, we might as well keep going if that's the case. Hey, where's Ino?" Naruto asked remembering that he hadn't seen her in a while. Shikamaru pointed over to a corner, where said girl was snoring away in her sleeping bag.

"Well I guess we'd better follow her example." Naruto said as he began to set out his sleeping equipment. Shikamaru yawned as began to do the same. After a moment of silence the pineapple haired boy looked over at Naruto, who caught him staring a moment later.

"Uhh, is there something on my face?" Naruto asked awkwardly as Shikamaru continued to stare. He was about to comment on how creepy this was when the Nara finally opened his mouth.

"Didn't you get cut on the face by the missing nin earlier?" He asked curiously, getting a nod from Naruto in response.

"Yeah, why?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru stared at him a little closer before replying.

"There's no scar or mark on your face, did somebody heal you or something?" He asked as Naruto simply looked at him confusingly.

"You know there's no medic nins around here, at least I don't think there is. It probably just healed up on its own, I've always been a fast healer." Naruto shrugged as he laid down in his sleeping bag. Shikamaru watched him a little longer before following suit, staring up at the roof in thought.

' _That happened less than three hours ago, there's no way it could have fully healed in such a short period of time.'_ He thought as he looked back over at the blonde. Naruto had falling asleep rather quickly, and was currently bringing in the ships with his snoring. Shikamaru sighed as he turned on his side in order to get some sleep as well.

' _No troublesome thoughts before bed.'_ He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah the infamous wave arc. Done a million times already, will likely be done a million more times in the future as well. It's really important for Naruto's development though so it's a must, especially in this story. Anyways, you know the drill, hit that review button and let me know what you think.**


	7. Fighting Your Demons

**Chapter 7: Fighting Your Demons**

* * *

True to Shikamaru's words the previous night, Naruto and company found themselves traversing across the lake leading into the wave country early in the morning. The boat ride was completely silent, a combination of both their captains warnings and their own lack of energy. Ino yawned as she leaned against the edge of the boat, staring ahead over the misty lake.

"Are we close yet? It feels like we've been on this boat for hours." She said looking over at her sensei.

"We should be close, you might want to start gathering up your things. We'll be heading out as soon we touch land." Asuma said looking back down at the blonde.

"How about a short nap break? I think we all could use it, especially Shikamaru." Naruto mumbled looking over at his teammate. He had been sitting in the same position staring off blankly into space for the entire boat ride. Naruto was starting to think his mind had actually shut down.

"We can rest when we get to the bridge builder's house. I don't want to be out in the open any longer than we have to be, especially in the heart of this problem." Asuma replied getting a sigh from Naruto. It was then that were informed that they would be reaching land soon and to get ready to get off.

They gathered all their things and bid the man farewell as they began to make their way towards Tazuna's house.

"I hope you've got some food at this place old man because I haven't been this hungry in my life! Wait, actually that's a lie…" Naruto said remembering his more rougher days when he had first left the orphanage. Who knew it would be so hard to get a decent meal on the street?

"Don't worry, I'm sure my daughter will have something for us all to eat." Tazuna replied to the boy with a smile. Naruto returned it with a grin before staring ahead again. The group continued on in relative silence, taking in the nature around them. It was then that Naruto's sense went off, and he quickly flung a kunai into the bushes ahead of them. A white rabbit shot out from the area, running over into the arms of Ino who caught it willingly.

"Jeez Naruto, on edge much? It's just a rabbit you know." She said giving it a stroke to calm it down. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly while Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at the sight.

"White fur? This isn't the time of the year nor the type of region to have rabbits with white fur." Shikamaru said as he himself began to look around suspiciously. Asuma narrowed his eyes as well at the observation before they went wide again as he turned to look ahead of them.

"Hit the floor! Now!"

Not needing to be told twice, everyone immediately dropped to the ground as a projectile came flying through the air. It crashed into a tree above Naruto, who scurried away in a hurry to get away from whatever it was. He stopped however when he noticed that a man had propped himself up on top of the giant...butcher knife.

' _Maybe going back to Konoha wasn't a bad idea after all.'_ He thought to himself staring at the man with bug eyes. The masked man's eyes were firmly planted on Asuma though, who was returning his stare firmly. He got up to his feet before he began to address him.

"Zabuza Momochi, what's the so called 'demon of the mist' doing in a place like this." Asuma said as everyone gathered behind him. Zabuza allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips before hopping down to the ground, ripping his sword out from the tree in the process.

"Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Third Hokage and former member of the twelve guardians. Looks like I'm going to get to have some fun on this mission after all." He said lifting his giant sword over his shoulder. Naruto blinked before looking up at his sensei in wonder.

"Wait, you're related to the old man? What the hell!" He yelled getting a small sweat drop from Asuma.

"Kid, first off, now's not the time for this. Second, how the hell did you not put that together earlier?" Asuma replied before turning his attention back to Zabuza.

"Seeing as you're surprised to see me, I'm guessing you're not after my bounty. That only leaves you being after the bridge builder, working for Gato now are you." Asuma said, watching his opponents moves intently.

"Good deduction, I am here for the bridge builder. However, I can't pass up the opportunity for a good fight and a little extra cash now can I?" Zabuza said before immediately breaking out into a sprint towards Asuma. Naruto and the others immediately jumped out from behind Asuma and onto the sidelines as he pulled out his trench knives and prepared to defend himself.

Zabuza took an overhead swing with his sword, which Asuma dunked under. He sent a punch towards Zabuza's abandoman only to find that his opponent was nothing but a water clone. He cursed as he quickly began to survey the area to find his whereabouts. Hearing laughter coming from behind him, he turned only to sent be sent flying by a kick into his side. He landed on top of a lake, righting himself with a roll as he floated on top of the water. Before he could react however, he was caught inside a giant orb of water, and was unable to move.

"Now then, that should take care of you for awhile shouldn't it? Let's get these pesky brats of yours out of the way so we can really enjoy our fight." Zabuza said with a grin as six clones of him raised out from the water. Asuma struggled inside the prison before turning towards his team on the shore.

"Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, get out of here now! Take the Tazuna-san with you and get to the city!" He yelled, but to no avail. Ino was shaking uncontrollably and had fell to her knees, while Shikamaru was shakily holding a kunai and breathing heavy.

' _It's no good, the killer intent Zabuza's giving off is too much for them! They weren't ready to face someone like him!"_ He thought as one of the clones ran off towards them. He was about to yell for them to run again when he realized it was too late as the clone was already upon Ino.

Just before he could strike however, a loud yell caught the attention of everyone in the area. Coming from the side, Naruto jumped into a swinging kick that connected with the back of the clone's neck. He dispersed into a pool of water as Naruto landed in front of his team, glaring over at the remaining five water clones.

"If you want to get to my team, then you'll have to go through me first." Naruto said glaring over at Zabuza. The original laughed as he looked back over at the boy.

"Oh yeah, I like this one. You've got a little bark to you, but let's see if you can back it up." Zabuza said with a grin as the five other clones charged towards Naruto. Making the tiger sign, he began to take off in a sprint towards them as well.

" **Shadow Clone Jutsu** **!** **"** He yelled as four other copies of himself appeared on the side of him. Naruto threw a punch towards Zabuza, who deflected it away and sent a knee into his stomach. His grimaced before grabbing on firmly to the leg, holding it in place as one of his clones came up from behind and sent another kick into the back of Zabuza's head, dispelling this clone much like he did the earlier one.

He dodged under a swipe from another water clone before throwing a punch into its gut, dispelling that one as well.

' _Three down, two more to go. Damn, I'm awesome!'_ He thought to himself before he found a foot implanted into his back. He was lifted off of the ground and into the air as one of Zabuza's clones snuck up behind him. The other clone jumped up into the air to greet him, punching him back down towards the ground where he landed with a yelp of pain. The clone lifted its sword to deliver the final blow when it suddenly stopped in its tracks with the sword in the air.

"Ino, now!" Shikamaru yelled getting Naruto's attention as he looked over only to find said blonde girl jumping over him. She launched a kunai towards Zabuza, hitting him in the chest and dispelling him. Breaking free of his stupor, Naruto jumped up from the ground and turned to face the last one, Ino standing at his side.

"Let's do this together Naruto, alright?" She said staring ahead in focus. Naruto smiled in anticipation, rolling his neck in the process.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said, looking forward as well.

With that, the two charged towards the final clone. Ino broke off to the right while Naruto continued to run straight ahead. Just as the two were about to collide, Naruto jumped high into the air and over the swipe of Zabuza's sword, landing behind him. Zabuza turned around to throw a kick towards the blonde but he caught it deftly, holding it in place with a grunt. Stuck in Naruto's grip, the clone could do nothing as Ino appeared from the side and thrusted the kunai into his chest. The clone dispersed, with Ino and Naruto sharing a quick high five in celebration. From the side, Zabuza chuckled slightly from the sight.

"Well well, you've trained your brats well Asuma, that was pretty impressive. Looks like they still need a little lesson in stealth though" he said, yanking his hand out of the water prison and turning around to catch Shikamaru's hand as he prepared to impale him with a kunai. Before Shikamaru could even express his shock, Zabuza hit him with a hard knee into the chest, knocking the wind out of the boy and causing a good amount of blood to erupt from his mouth. He then threw him off into the lake , where he quickly sank beneath the surface.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled, preparing to hop in the lake and go after him. Zabuza appeared in front of him however and swiftly grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Sorry kid, but I'm no water clone. You won't be getting off so easy with me." He snarled before punching him in the gut. Naruto eyes grew wide as his body shriveled up in pain. Zabuza wasn't finished however, as he began to hit him with a barrage of punches and kicks while he was in his grips. Naruto was slowly beginning to lose consciousness as Zabuza continued his assault, until he suddenly stopped and dropped Naruto to the ground as a series of shuriken flew in his direction.

Jumping back to avoid them, Zabuza looked over to see Ino lifting Naruto up over her shoulder, glaring in his direction. He smirked as he stared right back at her.

"Oh don't tell me you plan on fighting me little girl. I've seen flowers more intimidating than you." He said preparing to walk towards them.

"Oh don't worry, I think your time is already up." Ino replied as Naruto smiled slightly from his position on her shoulder. Before Zabuza could reply, his eyes went wide as he tried to dodge an attack from behind him. He couldn't do so completely however and yelled in pain as a deep gash was sliced into his shoulder, rendering his right arm useless. He leaped back and turned to glare at his attacker before cursing in surprise as he saw it was Asuma.

"How the hell did you escape from the water prison? There's no way you should've been able to touch my clone holding it together." He growled as Asuma glared over at him.

"I didn't have to, my student took care of that for me." He replied nodding towards Ino, who was moving the injured Naruto over towards Tazuna and an unconscious Shikamaru. "That 'little girl' as you called her managed to save me and both her teammates without you even noticing, and also solidified your death."

"How'd you do it?" Naruto asked wondering how she could save both Asuma and Naruto in the short time span.

"I threw some shurikens at the clone holding the water prison together at the same time I did towards the real Zabuza. I figured as long as I could get the clone to move and and take his hand out of the Water thingy, It would collapse and Asuma could handle the rest." She said.

Zabuza growled as he grabbed his sword with one hand. It would be difficult to maneuver with it, but he had trained many times for instances just like this. Asuma lifted his trench knives in a defensive position, panting heavily as he tried to focus on Zabuza.

' _It feels like my chakra has been drained almost completely. I need to end this now.'_ He thought glaring over at his opponent. He was about to attack when suddenly something flew into the neck of Zabuza, who stiffened before falling to the ground in a heap. A masked nin in a kimono hopped down from the nearby tree lines and crouched near the body.

"Oh come on, who the hell is this now?!" Ino yelled as she took sight of the new comer.

"I'm a hunter-nin from Kirigakure. We have been tracking down Zabuza Momochi for a long time now, so we'll be taking care of him from here on out." The masked nin said to answer Ino's question. He took Zabuza and lifted him over his shoulder before disappearing back into the tree line. Asuma tried to take off after them but stumbled and fell to his knees in a huff.

"Asuma-sensei, take it easy. There's no need to chase after them, you heard what the hunter nin said. They're going to take care of him now." She said rushing to his side to help him up. He got into a sitting position before cursing as his vision began to get blurry.

"No, I doubt that's actually the case. A true hunter nin would have disposed of his body right then and there, I know this for a fact. What we saw there was something else, possibly an ally of his." Asuma said in between coughs. Naruto, who had been listening from over on the side, slowly rose to his feet and made his way over towards the two.

"So you think he'll be back?" Naruto asked as Asuma coughed so more.

"That's exactly what I'm…" he started off before finally losing consciousness. Naruto rushed to kneel by his side, wincing as he did so.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked as Ino looked him over. She shook her head slowly before looking over at Naruto.

"I don't know, he doesn't have any serious injuries or anything. Going off that and his paleness, I can only guess it's because of chakra exhaustion. That water prison technique must also siphon chakra." She said looking back down towards him, a groan escaping her lips.

"We need to get him and Shikamaru somewhere where they can rest." Naruto said standing up and looking over towards Tazuna who came over carrying Shikamaru.

"I have medical supplies back at my home, it shouldn't be much farther from here. We should take them there." Tazuna said getting a nod from Ino.

"Alright let's do that then and fast. I don't want to have anymore run ins with people looking to get to you." She said shooting Tazuna a slight glare. He chuckled sheepishly as Ino rolled her eyes.

"Here, I'll take Asuma-san since he's the biggest and I'm probably the most fit for it right now." Tazuna said moving to grab Asuma. He handed Shikamaru over to Ino, who grunted and buckled slightly under his weight.

"Here, I can take him Ino-chan." Naruto offered moving to grab him before being shooed off by Ino.

"You can barely move yourself, and I don't need you breaking down on me as well. I can handle this." She said motioning Tazuna to lead the way towards the house. It took a little under an hour for them to reach the small town and Tazuna's house. When they arrived, a young woman came out to greet them, followed by a young boy who stared at them as they walked onto the porch.

"This is my daughter Tsunami and my grandson Inari." Tazuna said introducing them. Tsunami gave a polite bow while the boy simply turned to head back into the house.

"What's his problem?" Naruto said as Tazuna shook his head.

"Please forgive my son's attitude, he's been having a rough time as of late. Please, come inside." Tsunami said ushering the group inside.

"Do you have a place we can put our sensei and friend at, they're in bad shape." Ino said shuffling Shikamaru's position on her back.

"Of course, just follow me upstairs and I'll show you a room with medical supplies as well." Tsunami replied leading Ino and Tazuna up the stairs. Naruto went over into the living room and took a seat on the couch, letting out a heavy sigh as he finally got to rest his body. He winced when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, readjusting his position to fix it.

"Naruto! Get your butt up here now!"

"Well so much for getting some rest…" he mumbled as he got up from the couch and headed upstairs. He walked into the room to find Ino putting a towel over Asuma's head, turning to him when she noticed his presence.

"There you are, come here so I can wrap your torso up." She said moving to grab the bandages. Naruto scratched his head sheepishly as he sat down on the floor.

"You don't have to do that Ino-chan, I'll be fine with just some rest." He said as she moved over towards him.

"Shut it whiskers, you're getting tended too whether you want it or not. Now take off the jacket and your shirt." She said prepping the wraps. Naruto grumbled before complying with her wishes. Ino blushed heavily when she took notice of his bare upper body. Luckily the lights in the room were pretty dim so he wouldn't notice.

' _Who knew Naruto was built so solidly.'_ She thought to herself as she began to wrap the area Zabuza struck him in. Naruto himself was having trouble keeping his thoughts focused, seeing as this was the closest he'd been to a girl in his entire life.

"O-ok, I think we're done." Ino said moving back. Naruto stretched his arm a little in an upwards motion before wincing again.

"Hurts like hell." He commented as they both stood up to head back downstairs.

"Well, I'm not a doctor or anything but judging by the bruises and force of the attack you might have a few broken ribs. At the very least it might be some strained muscles in the rib area." She said as the two went into the living room. Tazuna and Tsunami were wrapping up a discussion as the two came into view.

"Are those two going to be alright?" Tazuna said with a worried look on his face. Ino nodded her head yes as Tsunami excused herself to go prepare dinner.

"Shikamaru's the most hurt out of all of us, and Asuma-sensei should be up soon after a little rest. We might have to wait a day before we can start the bridge project however." She said getting a nod from Tazuna.

"That's fine, I think we all could use some rest anyways." He said looking over towards Naruto who had falling asleep on the couch already. He chuckled softly before standing up to head into the kitchen.

"You should get some rest as well young lady, I'll wake you all when dinners ready." He said moving to help Tsunami. Ino sighed before lying down on the other side of the couch from Naruto.

"I hate to quote that lazy bastard, but this mission has been nothing but troublesome…" she grumbled as she tried to get some rest.

* * *

 **(Later)**

Naruto found himself being slowly stirred from his sleep by a light shaking. Opening his eyes, he stared up wearily at a smiling Tsunami, who moved back slightly as the boy sat up.

"Dinner is ready Naruto-kun." She said as the boy stretched with a yawn. He flashed her a sleepy smile as the two made their way into the kitchen. Naruto took a seat at the table and had a look around for who was present.

"Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, you guys are up again!" He exclaimed. Asuma spared him a little grin while Shikamaru just yawned.

"Did you enjoy your little nap brat? You sure looked like you were enjoying it." Asuma said his grin growing wider by the second. Naruto was about to ask what he meant when Ino began to clear her throat rather loudly and distracted everyone.

"Well we better not let this delicious dinner Tsunami-san made for us go to waste, let's dig in!" She yelled with a blush on her face as she began to inhale her food. Naruto stared at her awkwardly before looking around again.

"Um, is something the matter?" He said as Asuma's face was practically splitting with his grin.

"We found Ino laying on top of you while both of you were sleep." Shikamaru said matter of factly taking a sip of his water. Tsunami blushed slightly while Tazuna continued to read his paper, though you could see the smile on his face as well. Ino glared over at Shikamaru as her face grew redder.

"It was in my sleep, I had no control over it! And you are _so_ going to pay for mouthing off about that Shika!" Ino yelled as Shikamaru simple shrugged and continued to eat. Naruto held down a blush himself as he began to occupy himself with his food. Asuma laughed heartily along with Tazuna.

"Teenage hormones aside, I want you guys to get as much rest as possible over the next few days. If I'm right, we're going to be seeing Zabuza again soon, and this time he won't be playing around." Asuma said getting a serious look from his students. "To prepare you for that, we're going to do some training while we're out here."

"I can go for some right now, why wait?" Naruto said looking over at his sensei.

"While I'm sure you would have no problem going out and giving it your all at this very moment, the rest of us are human and have limitations you know. So you'll just have to wait for us to recover as well now won't you?" Asuma said getting some grumbling from Naruto. Inari, who had been watching them all silently up to this point, stood up sharply from his seat with his head facing down.

"This all pointless! There's no way you guys are going to be able to stop Gato anyways, no one can!" He yelled startling everyone at the table.

"The hell's your problem?" Naruto asked getting a glare from the young boy.

"There's nothing that you can do, you might as well go back to where you came from! Fighting against Gato is gonna' do nothing but send you to your death!" Inari yelled, getting a twitch from Naruto.

' _This kid is really starting to bug me.'_ He thought to himself. Tsunami stood up from her spot at the table and glared at Inari harshly.

"That's enough out of you Inari. These people had come here to help us and I won't stand for you disrespecting them." She said as tears started to form in the young boy's eyes. He pushed away from the table, spilling his drink all over Naruto's food before running upstairs.

"I was going to eat that…" Naruto grumbled as he looked down at his plate in disappointment.

"I'm sorry for my grandson's actions. The last year or so has been very hard on him since the lost of his father." He said.

"His father?" Ino asked. "Is that the man in the picture over there."

Everyone turned to look at a picture sitting on top of a stand. It showed Tsunami and Inari standing next to a man, all smiling into the camera. Tazuna nodded solemnly, as the group turned their attention back towards him.

"What happened to him?" Naruto asked, though he already had a good clue of what did. Tazuna went on to tell him the story of how Gato first began to move his operations into the wave country and how Inari's father, along with other townsfolk, tried to stop him.

Just like Naruto thought, the men all fell to Gato's power, including Inari's father. The town was sent into a state of severe poverty, with many people not having jobs or any forms of income to survive on. All while Gato siphoned the area of its resources and became more richer as the people suffered.

"That's why it's important that I finish this bridge, to bring back hope to the people of the wave." Tazuna finished clenching his fist tightly. A somber mood had falling over the dinner table. Ino and Shikamaru both had angry looks on their face, in disbelief that someone could do something so evil. Asuma looked as if he seen something like this before, and simply shook his head at the news.

Naruto was taking it the hardest however, looking down at his hand in his lap and constantly balling them up into fist. He gritted his teeth before standing up from the table and walking towards the door.

"Naruto, where are you going?" Ino asked. He didn't answer however, simply opening the door and walking out. Ino went to follow after him when Asuma grabbed her and pulled her back into her seat.

"Leave him alone for a while Ino. That story probably hit Naruto a lot harder than us since he can relate to it more. He just needs to cool off a little." He said, getting a curious look from Tsunami.

"What happened to Naruto-kun?" She asked, getting Asuma to shift uncomfortably.

"Well, lets just say Naruto's an orphan and he knows a thing or two about what it's like to live in poverty and have people take advantage of said poverty. It probably hit a special cord inside of him." He said getting a sad look from Tsunami. Ino and Shikamaru also looked at their sensei curiously.

"I knew Naruto was an orphan, but I didn't know he had it that bad." Ino whispered to Shikamaru, who nodded as well.

"I've got a feeling there's a lot we don't know about that troublesome blonde." Shikamaru replied, looking at Asuma in thought.

' _And somehow I get the feeling that it's just the younger generation that's in the dark.'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

After a night filled with shouts of shadow clones and yells of battles, Naruto had unknowingly drifted off into sleep into the field he was training at. Still, due to his training with Anko Naruto had developed the ability to at least stay somewhat aware of his surroundings even in his sleep. It was because of this that he awoke with a start when he felt the presence of someone getting close to him.

Looking up he saw a young woman with long, black hair and almond eyes staring back down at him. It looked as if she was in the process of reaching out towards him as she slowly retracted her hand from around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you? I didn't mean too." She said with a soft voice as Naruto lifted himself into a sitting position. He didn't say anything, only staring at her in a dazed state until words slipped out of his mouth.

"Beautiful." He said, getting a small blush from the girl who looked away. A blush formed on his face as well as he took note of what he had just said.

"W-wait, that just slipped out, I'm sorry!" He yelled shaking his hands in front of his face. The girl giggled before turning back to face him again.

"It's ok, I'm flattered actually. My name is Haku by the way, may I have yours." She said as Naruto began to calm down.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. Future Hokage." He said formally extending his hand. Haku took it and the two exchanged a slight shake. Naruto stifled a small yawn before looking around the area.

"So what are you doing out here Haku-san? I can tell from the sky that it's pretty early in the morning right now unless I slept a whole day away again…" he remarked bringing his fist up to his chin. It wouldn't be the first time he went to sleep one night and didn't wake up until the next. Probably wouldn't be the last.

"I'm collecting medical herbs to help my friend. He's...ill at the moment, so I want to help him however I can." Haku replied getting a nod from Naruto.

"I see, well, how about I give you a hand?" Naruto offered standing up to his feet.

"You don't have to do that Naruto-san, really it's fine." Haku said getting to her feet as well. Naruto however had already took to observing the herbs she collected already in order to know what to look for.

"Don't sweat it, it's my pleasure!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to search for similar herbs. The two chatted absentmindedly about various topics as they continued to search for the herbs they needed. Eventually they finished up and were just sitting down enjoying each other's company. Naruto estimated that they must've talked for at least four hours straight, it was the most he'd ever conversed with someone one on one.

 _'So is this what its like to feel an actually connection with someone...'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"So, can I ask you something Naruto-kun?" Haku asked getting the attention of our blonde hero.

"Sure, whatever you want." He said with a shrug as he leaned back into the grass.

"Since you're a ninja, I want to know what is your purpose for fighting? What is it that keeps you going?" She asked looking down at him. Naruto had an unreadable expression on his face as he seemingly stared off into space. A short while passed by before he gave her an answer.

"To be honest with you Haku-chan, I don't know if I have a specific reason. When I was little it used to be for recognition, but the older I get the more silly that seems to me." He said, holding Haku's full attention.

"If this mission has taught me anything though, it's that I want to get stronger in order to protect those close to me. I can't stand the thought of losing someone that I could have protected had I only been stronger." He finished frowning at the thought. Haku stared at him for a little longer before a smile occupied her face.

"I think that's a wonderful way of thinking Naruto-kun. I have no doubt that you will be able to protect those close to you." She said causing Naruto to scratch his head in embarrassment.

"Well, that goes for you too Haku-chan. I know we've only known each other for a few hours, but I consider you someone I want to protect as well." Naruto said giving her a grin. She blushed at his declaration before closing her eyes and standing to her full height.

"Thank you for that Naruto-kun. I think it's time that I take my leave, I don't want to leave my friend waiting for to long." She said. Naruto stood up as well, a sad looking bestowing his face.

"Alright, well, I'll see you later?" He half said, half asked. Haku smiled and nodded her head yes, getting a grin from Naruto in return. She began to turn to walk away before stopping and turning back to Naruto.

"Oh, and by the way Naruto-kun, I'm actually a…" she stopped halfway through as a look of contemplation came upon her face.

"Huh, what was that Haku-chan?" Naruto said as he squinted his eyes at her. She didn't say anything however, simply walking forward until she was directly in front of the boy. She leaned down a little to accommodate for the height and placed a kiss on his check, shocking Naruto who stood there in a daze.

"Never mind Naruto-kun, I'll see you later." She said quickly backing up while facing him, hands hidden behind her back. She turned around and ran off into the forest, leaving Naruto alone in the clearing holding his cheek. After a few moments, he slowly turned and began to make his way back to the house.

' _Life is great.'_

* * *

 **(Later)**

After getting chewed out by Ino for staying out all night in hostile territory, the group found themselves making their way to the forest again to begin their training. Shikamaru recovered a lot faster than Asuma had anticipated, and so he figured the group could handle some light training at the moment.

"Alright you guys, let's start with something that can make both your and my lives better while traveling. You're going to learn how to climb trees using chakra." He said walking up to a tree demonstrating for them. Naruto raised his hand, getting acknowledgement from Asuma to continue.

"Asuma-sensei, I already know how to climb trees." Naruto said, demonstrating by waking up a tree himself. Ino and Shikamaru both looked on, mildly impressed by the blonde.

"You surprise me more and more every day you know that Naruto?" Ino replied as the boy threw an upside down peace sign with a grin from his position on the branch.

"Well then, look who's ahead of the curve. Alright Naruto, why don't you explain the bases of this exercise then." Asuma said as Naruto dropped down to the ground.

"Well, Anko-sensei said that it's all about finding the perfect balance. Like torturing someone good enough to get the answers out of them, but not killing them. You guys following?" He asked. Ino and Shikamaru stared at him in horror while Asuma just shook his head in his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with that woman…" he mumbled to himself as Naruto continued.

"It's harder to find and maintain the proper chakra wave length if you're moving, so it's better to practice simply sticking to the tree first before walking." Naruto said, getting a nod from Ino and Shikamaru. They both walked up to their respective trees and placed one foot on it. They closed their eyes in concentration and after a while, both moved their other foot to completely stand on the tree.

Ino had it more or less, sticking to the surface without moving too much besides her loss of balance. Shikamaru slid down a little at first but eventually righted himself. Naruto nodded in approval before moving on to the next step.

"Alright, now try to walk up the tree and maintaining that exact level of chakra in your feet." He said. Ino did so slowly, and eventually managed to make it all the way up to the top branch. Shikamaru made it halfway up before he lost his grip and fell to the ground, landing on his back.

"Ouch." He said, staring up at the tree lines from his position on the ground. Asuma erupted into laughter while Naruto tried his best to hold it in.

"Try it again, you almost had it." He said after he got himself under control. Shikamaru sighed before getting up to do just that. This time he managed to make it all the way up to the top of the branch as well. Asuma clapped his hands together and came to stand next to Naruto.

"Alright, I'm going to leave a shadow clone here with you guys to watch over the rest of your training while me and Naruto go to oversee the bridge building. I want you to keep going until doing this is second nature to you." He said as he and Naruto started off towards the bridge. Eventually they came to the area where the bridge was building built, Asuma turning to face Naruto.

"Alright first thing first, I want you to make some shadow clones to help out with the bridge building. The faster we get this done, the less time Gato and his little friends have to mess it up." He said. Naruto nodded and brought out fifty clones to help out with the project. The workers looked on with dropped jaws as all fifty of them crowded around Tazuna to receive instructions.

"Good, now I'm taking it Anko also taught you how to walk on water right?" Asuma asked, getting a nod from Naruto. "Good, then we're going to move on to this then."

He pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Naruto, who looked at it in curiosity.

"What am I going to do with this Asuma-sensei?" He asked as Asuma lit up a cigarette.

"Well you're not exactly ready to start elemental training yet, but it's still helpful to know what element you are so you can focus on those types of jutsu." He said getting a nod from Naruto. "I want you to channel your chakra into the piece of paper, it's going to tell us what your element is."

Naruto didn't know how it would do that, but he followed his sensei's orders anyways. He channeled some chakra into the paper, though at first nothing happened. Then the paper suddenly split into two, with each side rippling up. Naruto stared at them with a blank face, not really knowing what to do.

"Uhh, so what does that mean Asuma-sensei?" He said looking at the two slips in his hands. Asuma stared at him for a moment, cigarette hanging loosely out of his mouth before he exhaled the smoke he was holding in.

"Ino was right, you sure are full of surprises. That means that you have both a wind and lightning affinity. Not only is it rare for someone to have two affinities at such a young age, but you've got the two rarest chakra types as well." Asuma remarked.

"So that means I'm special huh? Awesome!" Naruto yelled jumping into the air. Asuma shook his head slightly, looking up at the sky.

' _This kid is really proving to be something different. Could the Kyuubi be influencing all of this somehow?'_ Asuma thought. Shaking his head, he looked back down at the boy and gave him a smile.

"Well, you're in luck. As it turns out I'm also a wind user, which means I'll be able to help you out a lot in that department." He remarked. He scratched his head in thought before snapping his fingers and leading Naruto down towards the lake.

"While I can't teach you anything to crazy until we get back to the village, I do have some easy jutsu's you can get started on now." Asuma said, Naruto salivating at the thought of learning a new jutsu.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's get started!" He yelled waiting impatiently.

"Alright then, watch this." Asuma said stepping ahead of Naruto. He ran through a short series of hand signs before cocking his fist back. Instantly a swirl of wind began to form around the arm, starting at fist and ending at his elbow.

" **Wind Gale Thrust!** **"** He yelled punching forward and sending a concentrated stream of wind from his fist. Naruto watched in amazement as a seemingly tiny concentrated tornado shot from his first and across the lake, kicking up large amounts of water as it did so.

"W-woah." Naruto remarked as the waves began to crash back down. Asuma admired his handy work before turning back towards Naruto.

"It'll take a while before you're able to use it like that, but with practice you'll get there. Here, let me show you the hand signs." He said, instructing Naruto on how to perform the technique.

"Now, this is a great jutsu in the sense that it can be used in close range combat as well as long." Asuma started off before Naruto interrupted him.

"How could you use this in close range? It doesn't seem like that type of jutsu to me." Naruto remarked.

"It may seem like that at first, but remember, I said it would be awhile before you could use it like I just did. The original use of this technique, especially for beginners, is to use it as a way to add some extra kick to one of your punches. Here, watch this." Asuma said forming a clone opposite of him. He ran threw the hand signs before performing the jutsu again.

" **Wind Gale Thrust!** **"** He yelled before charging at the clone. He thruster his fist forward, though this time he didn't shoot the jutsu out from his arm, rather using it as part of the punch. The result was instant, as the clone was sent flying from where he standed with currents of wind following after him before he dispelled.

"You see?" Asuma said righting himself. "That's how the jutsu can be used for close range attacks as well."

Naruto watched in amazement before running through the hand signs himself to try it out.

" **Wind Gale Thrust!** **"** He shouted as the wind began to form around his arm. It didn't last however as it seemingly blew away from him in every direction, sending strong gusts of wind everywhere.

"What's the deal?" Naruto asked as the wind died down. Asuma chuckled as he moved to go back up towards the bridge.

"You don't have any control over the technique yet kid. As of now, you're just throwing wind around the area from your arm. You have to learn to maintain and control the wind in one singular area before you can use it. That's why it's even harder to use it as a long range jutsu, because the farther out it goes the more control it requires." He said waving over his shoulder. "I'll leave you too it then, come see me if you need any help or you notice something."

Naruto grumbled to himself about his useless sensei before turning back towards the lake.

' _Alright, control. It can't be that hard right?'_ He thought to himself as he reared up to try again.

* * *

A week passed and the bridge building had went along without a hitch. Shikamaru and Ino had managed to get tree walking down pact and were now working on water walking, which they both found to be much harder than they expected. Asuma moved them out by the lake where Naruto was training so he could keep an eye on all of them.

Naruto had also taken to hanging out with Haku early in the mornings before his training at the bridge. The two would simply hang out in he clearing they first met at, talking about a wide range of topics that didn't really matter, simply enjoying each other's company.

Naruto was still struggling heavily with the jutsu Asuma had introduced to him. While he could now at the very least formed the jutsu, it spurred out of control whenever he so much as begin to do any movements, so he was far from perfecting it. The groups were currently taking a break on the bridge with the rest of the workers, eating some lunch while they recovered from their training.

"I'm not getting anywhere with this Jutsu Asuma-sensei, isn't there any other way you could help me?" Naruto asked as Asuma shook his head.

"Nope, I've given you all the tips I can. I told you this wouldn't be some walk in the park Naruto, you're just going to have to keep at it until you work out the kinks." He said taking a bite out of his sandwich. Ino glared at the two while taking a bite out of her own.

"At least you're not the one ending up soaking wet from your training. I knew I should've brought my swim suit…" she grumbled to herself. Shikamaru nodded in agreement, though he did find amusement in her mishaps.

"If you guys put as much effort into your training as you did complaining you'd have your respective fields down pact already. Look at Shikamaru! He's the one I would've expected to complain the most out of all you and I haven't heard one peep out of him!" Asuma said pointing to the Nara.

"That's only because when he isn't training he's sleeping his life away!" Ino yelled in rebuttal. Shikamaru looked up from his lunch, a defensive look on his face.

"I am _not_ always sleeping. Sometime I just like to lay in silence, something you obviously know nothing about…" he said, mumbling that last part.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you." Ino asked sweetly, getting a shiver to run down Shikamaru's back.

"Anyways, Asuma-sensei I've been meaning to ask you this. How long do you think we have until we have another run in with Zabuza and friends apparently? It's been awhile since then, you think he's recovered?" Shikamaru asked frowning up at his sensei. Asuma shrugged as he prepared to light up a smoke.

"Don't know, though we should appreciate this peace and quiet for as long as possible, no need to jinx it." Asuma said getting a head nod from Shikamaru.

"Amen to that. I would be happy if we didn't have to fight for the rest of the this mission." He said leaning back to look up at the clouds. It was then that he started to take notice of a slight mist coming upon the area. Sitting back up, Shikamaru looked around as the mist was slowly getting heavier.

' _Ok, this mist is moving in way too fast to be natural. What the hell is going on around...oh crap.'_ He thought facepalming. He just had to open his big mouth.

"Man, this mist is something serious huh guys?" Naruto asked looking around while holding his cup of ramen in his hands. Asuma looked around as well before narrowing his eyes and standing up.

"Tazuna! Tell your men to head home for the day, now!" Asuma yelled at the old man across the bridge, who looked at him oddly before his eyes grew wide and he began to follow his orders. The rest of team 10 had gotten to their feet as well, following Asuma to center of the bridge.

"What's going on Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked as he tried to look around in the now extremely dense mist.

"Looks like Zabuza and friends are back." Asuma muttered keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of movement. The rest of the team Narrowed their eyes as they too were now on high alert.

" _Well well, looks who's still in town. I'm surprised you wet behind the ears genin haven't ran home to your mommies yet."_ A voice called out from seemingly all directions. Naruto snorted before retorting back.

"Jokes on you, I don't have a mother to go back to!" He said, getting an eye twitch from Asuma.

' _I would comment on how bad that comeback was if it wasn't a little sad as well.'_ Asuma thought as he continued to try and pinpoint where Zabuza was.

" _Well look on the bright side kid, at least you won't be alone in death. You're whole team is going to be joining you!"_ The voice said before cackling in laughter.

"Oh yeah, we'll bring it on then!" Naruto yelled. Before anything else could be said, a presence appeared behind him and kicked him onto the other side of the bridge. The rest of the team jumped back with a start and turned to see Zabuza standing at the spot Naruto once was.

"Gladly."

* * *

 **A/N: And we back! Next up is my first attempt at writing a really big fight scene, which I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about. We'll see how it goes though, hopefully I don't fuck up. If I do, please feel free to roast me in the review section at your discretion. Just know that if you've got a weird name, I'm clapping back.**


	8. Precious Ones

Chapter **8: Precious Ones**

* * *

Naruto slowly pulled himself together after the sneak attack by Zabuza. He took in his surroundings, noticing that he had been kicked over to the other side of the unfinished bridge. Groaning, he slowly pulled himself up to his feet to go join his friends.

"Gotta' get back to the others, we have to protect Tazuna!" Naruto said out loud moving to cross the clearing.

"No, your opponent shall be me." A voice called out, causing Naruto to jump forward with a small yelp.

"Who's there?!" He yelled looking around aimlessly in the mist for the source of the voice. Slowly, a figure walked out towards him from the other side of the bridge. Naruto squinted in its direction to get a better view of the person.

"Hey, you're the person from earlier, the hunter-nin! I guess Asuma-sensei was right about you after all." Naruto said narrowing his eyes at his opponent.

Behind the mask, Haku's eyes wavered a little at the sight of the blonde haired boy.

' _I'd hope it wouldn't have come to this. I really don't want to hurt you Naruto-kun.'_ She thought looking at him. Her thoughts flashed back to a conversation she had with Zabuza the night before.

 _(Flashback)_

 _Haku walked into the cabin quietly, trying not to attract too much attention coming into the house. Closing the door silently, she began to move towards her room when she bumped into Zabuza as she turned the corner._

" _And where exactly have you been?" He asked looking down at the girl. She blinked up at him before averting her gaze slightly and playing with her hair absentmindedly._

" _I was out doing some early morning training." She said nonchalantly, still not looking up to Zabuza. He raised an eyebrow as she took a look down at what was in her hand._

" _You went training with a picnic basket?" He said looking at her suspiciously as her face slowly turned red._

" _Look I decided to go out for a little alone time by myself, is that a problem?!" She yelled looking up at Zabuza with a full blown blush on her face now. Lately he had been taking much more interest in her personal life, which she was having trouble getting used to. Still, it felt nice to see him finally taking some interest in her besides training and fighting. Zabuza blinked before backing up a little with his hands up in front of him._

" _Easy now, no need to pop a vessel alright." He said as Haku blushed even harder. "If your face gets any redder you might pass out you know. Just remember that we're continuing with the mission tomorrow, so you need to be ready."_

 _Haku huffed and continued towards her room, slamming the door and leaving Zabuza alone in the hallway. Behind her door, her face sunk a little at the thought having to face Naruto tomorrow._

' _You knew this day would come, Haku. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten that close with him in the first place…' she thought before shaking her head. No, she didn't regret meeting Naruto and she knew she would be ready when the time came. With that, she moved over to her bed to take a short nap._

" _Hey, brat, what about breakfast?!" Zabuza yelled after her, grunting when he received no response._

" _Teens and their damn hormones…" he thought as he moved over to the kitchen._

 _(Flashback end)_

"It's not too late, you can still give up now and I won't have to hurt you." Haku said hoping her words would reach him. As she expected though, Naruto didn't even spare her a response, simply dropping down into his taijutsu stance.

On the other side of the bridge, Asuma was staring down Zabuza with the rest of the group standing behind him.

"Shikamaru," he said turning his head slightly to address the boy. "I want you to go and check on Naruto on the other side of the bridge. I have a feeling he's in danger."

Shikamaru looked up at his sensei before nodding and jumping out of sight to cross the bridge. Zabuza watched him from the corner of his eye, chuckling as he saw the boy going to the area where Haku was.

"You must like to send your brats off to death, there's no way those two will be able to deal with Haku." Zabuza said lifting his sword onto his shoulder. Asuma didn't reply, instead turning his attention to Ino.

"Ino, I want you to take Tazuna and fall back a little bit. I'm putting you in charge of protecting him, and if at any moment you feel we're losing the match, get him out of here." He said getting a nod from the blonde. With that, he took out his two trench knives and turned his attention back over to Zabuza.

"Done playing commander? Can we get this fight up and running finally?" He asked pointing his sword at Asuma. The bearded man smirked in his direction as the two slowly began to pace around each other.

"Are you that eager to have a repeat of last time? There's no funny tricks or games this time, and I'm at one hundred percent. You might as well leave while you still have the chance." Asuma replied. Zabuza didn't say anything, instead leaping forward in a great burst of speed.

He took a swing at Asuma, who jumped back to avoid it. Channeling some wind chakra into his knives, he began to take a series of swipes at Zabuza who managed to dodge them all expertly. Swearing, Asuma jumped back again, this time flashing through a series of hand signs at the same time.

" **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"** He yelled bringing his hands to his mouth. He exhaled the large fireball in the direction of Zabuza, who was running through a set of hand signs of his own.

" **Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"** He yelled as a giant dragon made of water came flying from underneath the bridge. The two attacks collided, both jutsus dispersing in a giant blast of steam and wind. Ino threw her arms in front of her face to guard against the raging winds that came as a result.

"Is this how a battle between two elites always goes?!" She yelled over the howling winds to no one in particular. Tazuna tried to respond but was too busy trying to keep his footing steady and not fly off to his death.

Back in the battle, Asuma was trying his best not to get cut in half by Zabuza's huge sword. That involved a lot of ducking and dodging on his part, with a little deflecting from his hefty knives. Kicking his feet in a sweeping motion, he caught Zabuza off guard as he had to jump in the air to avoid them. Using this to his advantage, Asuma jumped back to put some distance between the two. Channeling some wind chakra into one of his knives, he threw it in Zabuza's direction, with him having no way to dodge it.

He managed to contort his body slightly though, only catching a small nick across his chest. Growling, he landed back on the ground and jumped towards Asuma. He swung his sword similar to a baseball bat, hitting Asuma in the stomach with the flat side of his sword and sending him flying over the edge of the bridge into the water. He went over after him, preparing to hit with another attack when Asuma suddenly allowed himself to sink below the surface. Zabuza slid to a stop, looking around the lake before Asuma jumped up from behind and sent a kick into his back.

Zabuza stumbled forward in pain and lost his grip on the Kubikiri. Taking advantage of this, Asuma circled around him and grabbed the sword with both hands, launching it back up towards the bridge with a beastly yell.

Back up on said bridge, Ino and Tazuna were moving towards the edge to keep up with the fight when the sword suddenly dropped down right in front of them. They both fell to the ground with high pitch screams, scurrying back from the place the blade landed. Ino caught her breath first, and flopped down on her back in exasperation.

"I don't know how much more of this mission I can take." She said with a groan, Tazuna nodding in agreement.

"Now that your huge killing machine is out of the way, this should be a lot easier." Asuma smirked as Zabuza pulled himself back together . He rose from his kneeling position with a chuckle, looking at Asuma with a evil glint in his eye.

"You may have gotten rid of Kubikiri, but you also allowed us to get into _my_ element." He said performing hand signs. He dropped to his knees and stuck both his hands into the water, Asuma watching on wearily. At first nothing appeared to be happening, until he began to feel movement underneath him. Instincts alone told him to jump in the air as a shark made of water appeared from beneath the lake. Asuma landed back on the surface, performing multiple back flips to avoid the other sharks popping out of the water.

Growling, he launched himself high up into the air to get away from all the excitement. This was what Zabuza was waiting for however, as he immediately jumped up after him to begin his assault. He caught Asuma by surprised as he grabbed on to the collar of his shirt and threw the bearded man back down towards the lake. The sharks shot out of the water, ramming Asuma a total of ten times for each one as they crashed into his body kamikaze style. His body fell into the water and disappeared underneath it as Zabuza landed on the edge of the bridge.

"Well, at least he managed to make me break a sweat." Zabuza said smiling down at the lake. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to face Ino and Tazuna as he began to walk towards them.

"Times up bridge builder, and for you that means death." He said as Ino positioned herself in front of him with a kunai. Just when Zabuza got into striking distance, the ground below them exploded as Asuma came flying through it, hitting Zabuza with a uppercut that launched him way up into the air. Asuma landed beside Ino and Tazuna, panting heavily with cuts and bruises covering his body.

"Asuma-sensei, you're alive!" Ino exclaimed, getting a glare from the heavy breathing man. He turned his attention to the spot where Zabuza had landed, unmoving.

"I sure hope the brats aren't having as hard a time as I am…" He said worried about his other students.

* * *

On the other side of the bridge Naruto and Haku were currently staring each other down, neither one having moved one inch since the fight had started. Both their attention was diverted however when Shikamaru arrived on the scene, dropping down besides Naruto.

"Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked looking over at him. Haku stayed silent, simply observing the new comer from afar.

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid, same as always." He replied looking over at Haku. "So Asuma was right, the Hunter-nin was a fake."

Naruto nodded as he turned his attention back over to his opponent as well. Haku sighed as she fell into a taijutsu stance.

"It seems you won't take my offer to surrender. I do not wish to harm either of you, but it seems I must." She said before disappearing in a burst of speed. Naruto eyes went wide as he looked around the area frantically.

"What the hell, he actually disappeared!" Naruto yelled, him and Shikamaru now standing back to back in order to minimize the effects of a sneak attack.

"Just keep your eyes peeled, he has to be somewhere." Shikamaru said as his eyes darted everywhere looking for the smallest sign of movement. Before either could react, Haku appeared directly in front of Shikamaru, launching a kick into his stomach. She disappeared again as Shikamaru fell to his knees.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Naruto asked turning around. His sense went off and he threw his arms up just in time to block a punch sent for his face, grunting as he was sent backwards.

He recovered quickly and ran towards Haku, faking a punch to the right. As Haku threw up her arm to dodge, Naruto quickly adjusted and transitioned into an uppercut. He just barely missed as Haku leaned back at the last minute, kicking her feet out into Naruto's stomach in the process and sending the boy backwards.

Haku righted herself before Naruto and looked to follow up her attack when Shikamaru appeared behind her and tried to attack with a kunai. Haku however was aware of his presence and turned to grab his wrist as it was coming down. Grunting, Shikamaru tried to push through but to no avail as he was forced to retreat. Haku had other plans however, performing hand signs while chasing after him.

" **Ice Release: Ice lance Jutsu!"** She yelled forming a spear of ice in her hand. She launched it in Shikamaru's direction, who barely had time to dodge it as he narrowly sidestepped the attack. Haku had quickly formed another one though and threw it at Shikamaru, who had no time to dodge it. He was saved however as he was pushed out of the way by Naruto, who appeared to be pierced through the chest before he erupted into smoke.

Haku slid to stop as she stared at the sight in shock. She was slightly worried that she had killed Naruto when he had suddenly erupted into smoke. She was taken out of her stupor however by the sounds of footsteps behind her, turning to see ten Naruto's charging towards her.

"Let's see how you handle this!" They yelled in unison as they continued to run towards her. Haku wasted no time however, jumping into the air before the group could surround her and reaching into her jacket. In a display that was both graceful and deadly, she began to spin in the air while simultaneously releasing a slew of needles. Naruto had no time to react as his clones were completely wiped out in a matter of seconds and he sustained a few injuries as well.

Haku dropped back down towards the ground, looking over at Naruto and Shikamaru as the two came back together to regroup.

"I can't leave Zabuza-sama alone for too long. I believe it's time I put an end to this." She said as the mist in the area began to thicken. Naruto and Shikamaru tensed as she began to perform hand signs again, this time a much longer set.

" **Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"** She mumbled as the group were suddenly surrounded by a group of mirrors in the shape of a dome. Naruto and Shikamaru both watched in a mixture of awe and fear as the crystal structures surrounded them completely, leaving them with no way to escape. Haku silently slid into one of the mirrors, looking down on the two.

"Like a fancy mirror trick is going to stop me!" Naruto said tossing a shuriken at her form. In an instance though she disappeared, the shuriken bouncing harmlessly off the ice mirror.

"That won't work I'm afraid." A voice said from behind them, causing both Shikamaru and Naruto jump in surprise as they turned towards it. Haku was now in the mirror directly behind them, or rather she wa slowly spreading into all of the mirrors.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled, Naruto nodding in agreement. Both of the them stiffened as Haku began to address them.

"You have nowhere to run and there's no way for you to escape. I will offer you both this last chance to admit your defeat and surrender." She said as the two continued to look around the dome.

"Not a chance in hell! We'll never surrender, right Shikamaru?" Naruto exclaimed looking over at his friend. Shikamaru kept his gaze forward though, preferring not to answer the boy and focus on finding a way out of this thing.

' _I don't see a single weak point in this entire structure, not to mention the fact that he's completely surrounding us. I doubt you're average fire is going to melt this ice, and the same goes for brute force. Maybe surrendering isn't such a bad idea.'_ Shikamaru thought as he continued to examine his options. His thoughts were broken however when Haku began to make her move, each reflection pulling out a needle into their hand.

"So be it then." She said coldly lifting the needles into a throwing position. She threw the first wave, with Naruto and Shikamaru desperately trying to dodge them but realizing they truly had nowhere to go. Haku continued to pummel them with needles, most of which were now made of ice that seemed to hurt even more. When she finally stopped, both Naruto and Shikamaru stood in the middle of the dome completely covered in the projectiles.

"Now would be a good time for one of your plans Shikamaru." Naruto managed to spit out as he kneeled on the ground. Shikamaru was barely holding himself up, having to rely on all four limbs to do so.

"It's impossible, I can't think of a single way for us to escape out of here." He said panting, continuing in a hushed tone. "There's is something I've noticed though."

"Well lay it on me and do it quick. I think he's gearing up for another round." Naruto said. Shikamaru shakily stood to his feet, looking up at Haku inside the mirrors.

"You're not actually completely surrounding us, are you?" He said taking note of how Haku's body stiffened at these words. She relaxed slowly as Naruto got to his feet as well, looking perplexed.

"Impressive that you've figured that out. Yes, in actuality i'm only moving at such high speeds that it gives the impression that I'm in every mirror." Haku said looking down at the Nara. "Still, knowing this little bit of information won't help you in anyway."

Shikamaru seethed a little as he knew this wouldn't exactly help them either. Still, it was something for him to build off of and his mind was running a mile a minute to put it to good use. Naruto himself was preparing for the second wave of Haku's attack when a voice suddenly sounded off in his head.

' _Help me!'_

His head shot up sharply, a frown present on his face. He began to look around the dome in a confused manner, catching the attention of both Haku and Shikamaru.

' _That voice sounded like…'_ He thought to himself before his thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream ringing throughout the area. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized who's voice it was.

Ino's.

* * *

Asuma swatted away a kick from Zabuza before countering with one of his own, which Zabuza avoided. They continued this for awhile, both exchanging and avoiding blows with each other as their battle raged on. Eventually, Asuma caught a slip in Zabuza's defense and managed to get a critical blow in, avoiding one of his attacks and launching an elbow directly into his chest. Zabuza stumbled back, blood leaking from his mouth as he glared in Asuma's direction.

"I'm getting tired of these games, it's time for me step this fight up a notch." Zabuza said wiping his mouth clean. Asuma simply stared over at the man silently, waiting for his next move. He was surprised however when Zabuza opted not to dash towards him however, but over towards his Kubikiri.

Gripping it with one hand, he pulled it out of the ground and twirled in the air before disappearing in another burst of speed. Asuma couldn't even keep up with him, falling back down into his taijutsu stance as he prepared for an attack from the masked man. He eyed his surroundings carefully, searching for the slightest sign of movement anywhere. It wasn't helping that the most seemed to be getting thicker as well, decreasing the visibility of the area.

Zabuza on the other hand was seeing just fine and managed to sneak up on the side of the man. With a roar, he swung the Kubikiri in a sideways motion, slashing Asuma across the chest as he tried to jump away at the last minute. Zabuza wasn't finished however and twirled the sword in the air, catching a small bit of Asuma's leg. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching at the wound he had suffered. Zabuza began to laugh as he slowly made his way over towards him, dragging his sword behind him for added effect. He pulled the sword up to rest on his shoulder as he looked down at Asuma, his grin apparent even through the scarf he was wearing to cover his face.

"Looks like I got you good." He said with a chuckle as Asuma looked back up at him. "Well, this was fun but as I said I think it's time we end this game don't you think?"

With that, Zabuza lifted his sword to perform his final attack. Just as he prepared to strike him, he was forced to dodge to the right as a kunai came flying past his head. Growling, he turned to see Ino standing behind him in a position to fight.

"This little group just doesn't know when to quit, does it!?" He yelled as he prepared to deal with the girl. It was then that Asuma decided to act, taking in a deep breath before blowing out a cloud of ash from his lungs. Zabuza swore as he tried to jump back from the cloud but was unsuccessful, slowly getting swallowed up in the black mass. Asuma waste no time, pulling out his lighter and quickly lighting the cloud ablaze, causing a huge explosion of fire that sent both him and Ino flying backwards.

The explosion shook the entire bridge structure, and Tazuna inwardly groaned at the thought that his progress might have been set back just a little. Asuma managed to recover himself and was currently watching as the fire died down. He peered through the smoke to search for any signs of Zabuza while Ino made her way over towards him.

"A little warning would've sufficed next time Asuma-sensei, thanks." She said standing next to her sensei. He grunted in acknowledgment, still searching for signs of Zabuza. As the smoke began to clear, he began to worry as he still couldn't find any trace of him.

' _That explosion wasn't enough to completely obliterate his body, there should at least be something left. There's no way he could've escaped that blast in time, so where could he have…'_ He thought before the sound of something whirling in the air caught his attention. Before he could react, the Kubikiri came flying from behind them. It's target however wasn't him, as the blade instead wrapped around Ino's neck from the curve in its design, Zabuza appearing next to it in a flash.

Gripping the handle, he yanked Ino from her spot next to Asuma and took her a small distance away. Slamming her to the ground, he swung the weapon down onto her again, pinning her her to the ground with her neck caught underneath the U-shaped area of the sword. She yelled out in slight pain from the impact of the fall, struggling to get up against the blade.

"Zabuza! Let her go now!" Asuma yelled as he stood up to his feet. Zabuza glared at him, half of his body clearly covered in burns from the previous attack as he put his foot on top of the sword holding Ino down. Asuma prepared to dash forward for an attack when Zabuza applied some slight pressure to the sword, tightening it around Ino's neck as she let out a choking heave.

"I wouldn't get to close if I was you, wouldn't want her neck to accidentally get crushed now would you?" He growled as Asuma stopped dead in his tracks.

' _Damn it, I can't let him hurt Ino, but what else exactly can I do?'_ He thought trying to find a solution to his dilemma. Zabuza began to laugh as he took note of the troubled look on Asuma's face.

"Looks like you're all out of tricks, don't tell me that's all you've got in the useless head of yours." Zabuza said with a glint in his eye. This was soon replaced by a yelp of pain as he stared down at his leg, seeing a kunai imbedded in it. Ino glared up at him with one eye, one hand holding the kunai and the other on the sword trying unsuccessfully to move it up.

"That's it, I've especially had enough of you you little brat!" He yelled. He pushed down on the sword even harder, getting Ino to squirm under the pressure. She struggled against the sword, slowly losing consciousness as the blade choked her. Her arms fell to the side as she lost the power to hold them up. She could see Asuma yelling something toward her, but couldn't make out what it was as her vision began to fade.

' _Damn it, I can't breathe!'_ She thought as she struggle against the sword some more. Her eyes began to close as the last of her consciousness began to fade, her mind wandering back to the fight against the demon brothers when Naruto saved her.

' _Naruto...help me!'_ She thought. Before she could pass out however, Zabuza had one more surprise for her as he took the kunai out of his leg that she placed there.

"Lets see how you like it." He growled as he threw it directly into her stomach. Her eyes shot open in pain, and she yelled out a final howl before her body gave out and lost consciousness completely. Zabuza laughed as he turned his attention back towards Asuma, who was shaking with anger at the sight.

' _That's it, I have to make a move!'_ Asuma thought, figuring he had to save Ino somehow. He was still at a lost as of what to do since he knew he couldn't reach Zabuza before he would be able to press the blade down and kill her, but there had to be something. His thoughts however were interrupted as the hairs on his neck stood up and turned around to peer towards the other side of the bridge. He couldn't see through the mist, but he could still sense the power that was coming from over there. Zabuza had taken notice too, and was currently looking in that direction with interest as well.

' _Oh no. Oh no no no no no, not now, anything but that!'_ Asuma groaned inwardly as he realized what exactly he was feeling.

On the other side of the bridge, Shikamaru was staring at Naruto, who had his head held down and his eyes covered by his bangs.

"What did you just say." He said he quietly as the temperature inside the dome seem to drop even lower if that was possible.

"I said it seems as though Zabuza-sama has already dealt with one of your friends. You should give up before he-" Haku started before she was silenced by the overwhelming presence that had befallen over the area. Naruto's body began to shake as his fist became so tight that his nails dug into his palms, causing them to bleed.

"Shut up." Naruto said in a low voice. Shikamaru continued to stare at him before going wide eyed as a red glow began to emit from his body. He slowly began to back away as the aura became more pronounced, rolling off of Naruto's body in waves.

' _Naruto, what the hell is happening here?'_ He thought to himself as he reached the edge of the ice dome. Naruto's eyes were still hidden by his hair as the aura now completely covered his body. He slowly rose his head, looking up directly into the eyes of Haku who gasped at the sight of them. Shikamaru himself swallowed a large knot in his throat as he took in the sight.

"Alright, this has gone way past troublesome…" he mumbled as he took note of Naruto's blood red eyes and the slit iris he now sported. The whiskers on his face seemed to now be standing out, and his hair took on a much more spikier appearance as well. The tips of each of the spikes had turned into a somewhat reddish-orange color, and swayed upward slightly as if an invisible current was moving them. Naruto, not taking his eyes off of Haku began to slowly walk forward towards one of the mirrors. He stopped in front of one, face to face with its occupier.

"Let me out of here. Now." He said with a rougher voice than usually. Haku could barely breathe at the moment, let alone speak. She forced herself to calm down however and address him.

"I-I can't do that. I must protect Zabuza-sama and allow him to complete our mission." She stammered out, wavering under the boy's gaze. He said nothing for a short while, simply staring at her through her mask in silence. It felt as though he was staring into her very soul, and the amount of fear she was feeling right now was worse than anything she had ever felt before.

In an instant, Naruto disappeared from his spot at the edge of the dome, shocking Shikamaru as he looked around for where his teammate went. It was then that he heard what sounded like glass shattering, and stared up at the top of the ice dome to see that Naruto had punched directly through it, hitting their opponent out from it in the process as the two flew up from the structure. All around him the ice mirrors began to crack and fall apart, with the whole structure soon collapsing completely.

Haku fell to the ground hard, groaning as she tried to pull herself together. She managed to get up to her feet, only to find Naruto directly in front of her as soon she did so. Before she could defend herself, he sent a punch directly into her gut, making her fall over in pain. Grabbing her shoulders, he pulled her down into a knee that struck her in the chest, following it up with a few uppercuts that lifted her off the ground before kicking her hard in the stomach, sending her flying across the bridge. As she crashed right at the edge of it, Naruto appeared again, giving her no time to rest as he grabbed her by her kimono and flung her across the opening over to the other side of the bridge.

Asuma meanwhile was more than surprised when her body came crashing next to him, bouncing off the ground and landing her flat on her stomach, motionless. Him and Zabuza both stared in shock for a moment before they sensed the intense power moving closer towards them. From the mist, a slight red glow was slowly getting bigger before Naruto landed on the bridge in a huge crash. Tazuna gasped at the sight of the boy while both Asuma and Zabuza narrowed their eyes.

Naruto stood to his full height, eyes locked on the form of Haku's motionless body. They then shot over to Asuma, who unknowingly took a step backwards as the two eyes meet. Naruto stared at him for a moment, almost as if he was contemplating something, before his gaze turned to Zabuza. He was still standing over Ino, foot placed on the sword that was holding her down. Naruto took note of the kunai lodged in her stomach, and the small pool of blood forming under her. Naruto growled lowly in his throat before glaring up at Zabuza.

No words were exchanged as Naruto disappeared from his spot, catching everyone off guard at the display of speed. Before he could react, Zabuza was sent flying back from an attack he couldn't even see as Naruto took his spot next to the sword. He stared down at Ino's form, noting that her breathing was shallow and ragged. He grabbed the Kubikiri and lifted it off of her neck before tossing it over the bridge. He reached for the kunai before stopping and deciding to leave it in, not knowing if taking it out would worsen the situation. He picked her up gently and walked back over to where Asuma and Shikamaru were.

Silently, he passed her over to Asuma, who took her in his hands all the while focusing squarely on Naruto. He turned around and looked back over to where Zabuza was, his gaze focused yet glazed over at the same time.

"Shikamaru, I want you to take Ino and get her back to the house for medical attention. Take Tazuna with you." Asuma said handing Ino over to him. Shikamaru took her and looked up at his sensei, obviously wanting to ask the burning question in his mind but figuring that Ino's health was more important. He took off down the bridge, stopping quickly to grab Tazuna's attention to follow him. He looked back at Naruto one more time before continuing on, running back towards the house in a hurry.

Naruto never took his eyes off of Zabuza, who in turn was staring right back at the boy. Though he tried to hold it in, a smirk appeared on his face as he and the boy continued their stare off.

"I have to hand it to you brat, that stare is really something else. It's even got me feeling uncomfortable, which I didn't even think was possible anymore." Zabuza said. He didn't receive a reply as Naruto simply charged towards him, striking out towards Zabuza who blocked it with much effort on his end. Naruto recovered and quickly zipped behind him, striking him in the back before flipping away as Zabuza did a roundhouse kick in retaliation.

' _His speed is amazing…'_ Asuma thought as he watched Naruto square off with Zabuza. He winced however when Zabuza managed to catch the boy slipping and knocked him back with a powerful kick.

"Still, this is Zabuza, and he's up against years of experience." Asuma said as he ran to catch the boy. He snatched him out of the air and brought him down to the ground safely.

"Naruto, you're still with me right?" He said looking over at the blonde in concern. While he knew Naruto himself wasn't the Kyuubi, he didn't exactly have any experience with him being under its influence. Naruto looked over at him, not saying anything for a while before turning his sights back to Zabuza.

"I'm guessing this is the Kyuubi's power, right?" He asked, voice still low. He looked down at his hands, examining the claws he now had and the red aura emitting from his body. "Oddly enough, I feel great. My mind, my thoughts, everything feels clearer. I don't know how to explain it."

Asuma himself was surprised at this information. He figured using the Kyuubi's power would have a more negative effect on Naruto, or at least it was something that his father had warned him about. Looking over his student, he did seem to notice a sense of calmness about him that wasn't usually there. It wasn't Naruto's normal carefreeness, but more disciplined. Relaxed yet just as ready for action as he would be if he was on edge.

His thoughts were interrupted as it looked as though Zabuza was gearing up for another round. Not only that, but Haku was back up to her feet as well, standing next to her master.

"Zabuza-sama," she said in a hushed tone. "You're injured badly, and the way this fight is going we're not going to win. I believe it's in our best interest to retreat while we still can."

"No! We're taking care of this now." He growled looking over at Asuma and Naruto. Pulling out a kunai, he ran towards them with Haku following after him. She ran through a set of hand signs before jumping into the air.

" **Ice Release: Ice Shard Barrage!"** She yelled flinging her hands forward. From her flew an enormous amount of small ice shards, which Asuma deducted could easily rip them to shreds.

"Move!" He yelled as he and Naruto jumped out of their path. Naruto landed and performed the hand sign for his signature clone jutsu, poofing five into existence. They ran to meet Haku, ganging up on her in a series of taijutsu attacks. Haku managed to dispel them with relative ease, but was unsuspecting of Naruto, who used the clones as a distraction to get close to her. With a burst of speed, he launched forward and sent a powerful punch right into her face. She flew backwards, mask breaking into pieces in the process as she landed hard on the ground.

Asuma meanwhile was engaged in his fight with Zabuza, though he was clearly gaining the upper hand. He dodged one of his attacks and flipped over his back. Landing behind him, he caught the backwards kick his opponent tried to hit him with before using the momentum to swing him up in the air."I will kill you! I'll cut you and your little brats to pieces if it's the last thing I do!" He yelled as his attacks became more continued to narrowly dodge the attacks, wishing desperately he had his trench knives in hand.

 **"** **Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"** He yelled throwing up his hands towards Zabuza. A strong current filled with wind blades flew in his direction, causing the mask man to scream in pain as cuts formed on his body. Showing his resilience still, he recovered in mid air and flipped his way out of the attacks path, landing on the ground. Growling, he took off towards the edge of the bridge and jumped over it. Asuma followed after him, preparing to jump over only to find Zabuza jumping back onto it, Kubikiri in began to swing the largely sword hazardly in Asuma's direction, clearly losing himself inside his anger.

"Hey! Psychopath!"

That outburst caught their attention, as they both turned towards the source of the voice. Asuma's eyes widened as he took notice of Naruto, or more specifically what he was doing.

"Lets see how you like this! **"** **Wind Gale Thrust!"** yelled as he charged towards Zabuza, his fist covered in what appeared to be a mini tornado. Zabuza swore to himself before sticking his blade up to block the attack, not being able to move out of the way in time.

Naruto thrusted forward with a feral yell as the the attack meet the blade head on. The blade gave off a loud screeching noise as it tried to withstand the attack, Naruto pushing forward with more force as he was met with resistance. Zabuza grunted under the force of the attack, trying to push back but realizing he was losing the fight. He pushed forward harder, trying his best to over power the blonde but not having the strength to do so. With a yell, he abandoned his sword and jumped backwards to put some distance between himself and the boy. Naruto screamed louder as he continued to push throw, the screeching from the sword getting louder until eventually, to the shock of everyone, it snapped in half.

Zabuza landed a few feet away from them, staring in shock at his broken sword. His eyes then darted back to the one who was responsible for it, currently leaning over in exhaustion. He slowly began to rise up straight again however, the wind around his hand regaining its form after dispersing at first. Naruto peered up at Zabuza from underneath his bangs, his red eyes glowing eerily. Zabuza stepped backwards again as for a short while, the vision of a fox seemed to appear behind him.

"Time's up." He said lowly as the tornado around his hand returned and he charged forward again. Zabuza could only watch in shock as Naruto ran towards him, thrusting his fist out to end the man's life.

The attack never connected however, at least with Zabuza. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as instead of looking at Zabuza, he was now staring in the eyes of Haku. His attack collided with her body, instantly sending a burst of wind through her that tore through her chest. She was sent sent flying across the bridge, landing at the edge of the clearing that separated the two halfs. For a while the entire bridge was completely silent, as no one could muster up the power to say anything after what just transpired. Naruto was the first to break from his stupor, believing his eyes to have played tricks on him.

' _N-no way, that couldn't have been her, it couldn't be!'_ He thought as he ran over towards the body. He slowed down as he reached where she was lying, dropping to the his knees as he took in her face.

Haku slowly turned her head to look him, blood flowing freely from her mouth. She mustered a small smile as Naruto simply stared at her, one of his eyes reverting back to its natural blue state.

"H-haku-chan, w-why...I don't understand, h-how could you be…" he stammered as tears began to flow down his face. Haku smiled wider as Naruto kneeled over her, managing to bring her hand up caress his cheek.

"Don't cry Naruto-kun, we were both fighting for those who were precious to us. Is that not how it should be, like we said?" She said in a low voice as Naruto was crying freely now.

"I-I-I didn't mean to do it Haku-chan, I didn't know it was you, I would n-never try to harm you! I didn't know-" Naruto fumbled over his words as Haku put a finger to his mouth.

"It's ok Naruto-kun, this is how I wanted it to be. I wanted to protect Zabuza-sama, but I also wanted to keep you from harm." She said before bursting into a coughing fit. Blood splattered into Naruto's face as he stared down at her with wide eyes.

"I kept my identity from you so that when the time came for us to battle, you could fight freely in order to have a chance to protect those you cared about. It was my hope that I would be able to do the same, but I couldn't bring myself to hurt you." She said going into another coughing fit. Her hand fell from Naruto's face, who caught deftly inside of his

"Zabuza-sama saved me in a time when I was at my darkest. I've devoted myself to him and his cause, and I'll happily die for it. It has always been my hope that I could save him one day. Not only in a literal sense, but also from his own demons as well. Sadly, I wasn't even able to do that, but exchanging my life for his will have to suffice." She said staring up at the sky. It had began to snow lightly, falling down and melting against her face as Naruto listened to her intently. Asuma noticed that Zabuza had stiffened up after hearing these words, staring down at the ground with his fist clenched tight.

"I have no idea why I'm telling you this," she said looking back over at Naruto. "Though our time together was short, you had the same effect on me as well back then. It's so easy to open up to you Naruto-kun, I can't help but to ramble on."

"I felt the same way Haku-chan." Naruto said, smiling sadly through his tears as he pulled her up to his lap. Her eyes were slowly closing, and he knew she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"Can I confide in you one last secret then?" She said, getting a nod from the blonde in response. She was quiet for a moment, almost as if she was contemplating he r next words, before closing her eyes.

"Being with Zabuza-sama all my life, I never interacted with others much. You were the first person that I truly made a connection with since I was little. It may have been only for a short time, but I honestly feel as though I…" she started as tears began to flow down her face. She began to cough again, this time much more ragged than the others. She peered up at Naruto through half lidded eyes, struggling to get the last of her words out.

"N-Naruto-kun, I…"

Silence followed those words as Haku's eyes finally closed for good. Naruto's head was hung low, eyes covered by his bangs as he held on to her lifeless body. His own body shook with tremors as cried without any attempts to hide it, tears falling freely on Haku's face.

Asuma watched the sight with a somber look, attention switching briefly over to Zabuza who began to walk towards the two. He held one hand up to show Asuma he had no interest in fighting, instead walking by him and over towards his fallen partner. He kneeled down on the opposite side of Naruto, looking down sadly at Haku's form. He hesitated for awhile before reaching out to her face.

"I noticed that she had been wondering off a lot lately, though I had no idea what she was actually out doing, or more along the lines that I didn't care." He said still staring down at her. Naruto looked up at him with tears still flowing down from his eyes, a confused look on his face.

"When I found her, I only thought of her as being a tool to further spur on my own ambitions. I raised her, trained her, and made her into my image as much as I possible could to ensure that she could be of the best use to me. Yet throughout all of our training I could never break that heart of hers, even though I warned her that that compassion she held would end up being what killed her." He continued, Naruto listening silently. Zabuza looked up at the blonde haired boy as a sigh escaped his lips.

"Haku wasn't cut out for this type of work. I should have cut her loose when I had the chance. She appealed to apart of me that I long had figured to have suppressed completely though, and I believe subconsciously because of that I kept her around." Zabuza said brushing one of her bangs out of the way. "It was my selfishness that caused this happen, even though I knew it would. I failed her."

Asuma watched the sight with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. He heard the sounds of footsteps and yelling behind him though, and turned to see a mob of people standing behind a fat guy in business suit. He narrowed his eyes as he turned around to face them, eyes widening slightly as he realized who it was.

' _Gato.'_ He thought with a growl as the man came forward.

"What the hell is going on here, I thought you would've been finished by now Zabuza!" He yelled looking at Asuma. His gazed turned over to where Zabuza was and he took notice of Haku's limp body.

"Oh? That lady boy of yours died? Good, not like we need anymore of them running around this world anyways right guys?" He said getting a laugh from the group behind him. Naruto growled as his eyes flashed back to their red form and he began to stand up. Zabuza stood up before him though, looking over at Gato and his men while holding his hand out towards the boy.

"Give me a kunai, kid." He said not taking his eyes off of the mob. Naruto blinked up at him before doing as he was told, placing the weapon in Zabuza's hand who gripped it tightly. He began to walk forward towards Gato, passing Asuma on his way.

"Need any help?" The sensei asked nonchalantly even though the two were trying to kill each other only moments ago. Zabuza simply shook his head no, continuing forward until he stood in front the large gathering. Gato smirked at him as the mob moved up closer towards him.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't get the job done, so I brought some help to finish up for you. Sadly, I don't take kindly to those who can't complete a mission properly, so you'll have to die too I'm afraid. Nothing personal." He said before breaking into a loud laugh. He motioned for the mob to move forward, the group charging at Zabuza with a loud cheer.

Zabuza simply stood in place, looking at the large group of mercenaries approaching him. All in all there had to be at least fifty of them, but he didn't flinch in the slightest. Instead, it was the mobsters who began to slow down in their approach as his killer intent began to reach them. In an instant Zabuza charged into the middle of the mob, armed with nothing but a kunai. He began to attack the mercenaries one after another, tearing through them with the ease of a hot knife through bitter. he jumoed from man to man, sliding through the crowd with precise slashes of his kunai.

The mobs numbers began to dwindle fast as Zabuza continued to pick them off with ease, now completely covered in blood. Naruto watched the spectacle in both awe and slight fear, realizing now why they called him the demon of the mist. Eventually only about half of the men were still there, crowding behind Gato who looked on in trembling fear.

"W-what are you imbeciles doing! Attack him!" Gato yelled as Zabuza began to move towards him. He stopped however when one of the mercenaries was struck in the chest by an arrow, falling to the ground. Zabuza and the others turned to see a large crowd gathered on the other side of the bridge, all yelling and cheering with weapons of their own. At the forefront was Shikamaru and Inari, looking to have led them over there.

"Enough is enough, it's time we fight back!"

"Leave our town alone!"

"We won't stand for it any longer!"

"Yeah!"

The crowd yelled out in protest as they fired their weapons down towards the other mob behind Gato. His men began to scramble and run in response, Gato trying to follow after them before having his collar caught by Zabuza and being lifted off the ground. He squirmed under Zabuza's grip as he tried desperately to get away.

"Sorry, but you're not getting away." Zabuza said, eyes clearly showing his dark intentions. Gato began to beg for his life but to no avail as Zabuza brought the kunai up to his neck. "At least not alive."

Before he could even scream, Zabuza took his life in ruthless fashion. He tossed his body to the side and turned back towards Naruto, who was still holding Haku's body. He walked back over kneeled down next to her, ignoring the blonde while taking her from his hands. As he lifted her up Asuma came over as well to stand next his student, whose features had finally returned back to normal as the action was over.

"Well your employer is gone now, what are you going to do?" He asked as Zabuza stared down at Haku. judging by what had just transpired, he doubted Zabuza was in much of a fighting mood.

"First, I'm going to give Haku a proper burial. Its the very least she deserves." Zabuza said turning to walk away. Before he could however, Naruto spoke up himself.

"Wait!" He called out getting the man to stop. "Please, let me come too."

Zabuza didn't say anything, only staring back at Naruto with an unreadable expression before continuing on. Naruto took that as an invitation to come along and did just that. "Well, can't exactly leave him alone now can I..." Asuma mumbled coming along as well. He signaled to Shikamaru and the others that they would be back before too long.

With that, the two followed silently behind Zabuza.

* * *

 **(Later)**

The trio slowly made their way up over a hill, stopping as they reached the peak. Naruto looked over and saw that this area had a great overview of the lake.

"Haku liked to spend a lot of time up here after training." Zabuza said more to himsel than the others, placing her down gently. He began to dig a hole, Naruto moving over to help after a moment of hesitation. Zabuza glanced up at him irritably, but didn't stop him. The two dug in silence, eventually making a pit that was big enough to house her body. They placed her inside and took a moment to take in her face one last time. Zabuza sighed as he looked over to where Naruto was kneeling, his eyes narrowing as they caught they caught the boys.

"You know, I could kill you right now as some form of consolidation for myself." Zabuza said in a low voice.

"Well why haven't you then?" Naruto asked watching him as well.

"Because for one I more than anyone understands that death in the heat of the battle is inevitable, and Haku's death was entirely her own fault." Zabuza said, ignoring Naruto's stare. "More importantly though, it's not what Haku would have wanted."

standing up, Zabuza gave Haku one last look over before he started covering her body.

"Actually, I want to thank you kid. Haku didn't have a lot of people in her life who cared about her, and I feel like that's partially my fault." Zabuza said. Naruto remained silent, only moving to help him finish covering up her body. Once that was done, Zabuza made a small memorial out of three Kunai and some ninja wire. Afterwards the two found themselves just staring down at it, as if neither could bring themselves to leave.

"So what are you going to do now?" Naruto asked turning to face the man. Zabuza looked out over the sea in thought before turning to walk down the path they took to get there.

"I'm going to continue the mission that Haku died for. I think I'm going to return to Kirigakure and start up the resistance like I planned to, funds be damned." He replied. Naruto nodded, not really understanding but not feeling up to questioning it as well. Zabuza turned towards Naruto, smiling slightly through his mask.

"I look forward to crossing paths with you in the future brat. You're a hell of a fighter, if just a little off in the head." He said turning to walk away. He threw a hand over his shoulder in goodbye as Naruto watched him leave. As he form disappeared, Naruto turned to stare down at the stone one final time.

"Ready to go kid?" Asuma asked standing nearby. Naruto nodded to show he was, and the two quietly left from the area. they made it back to Tazuna's house a few minutes later, the others in the living room waiting.

"Naruto-" Shikamaru started before Asuma grabbed his arm to stop him. Naruto walked towards the stairs silently as he went up to the second floor. He began to walk towards his room before stopping and looking over at the door to Ino's. He cracked it open to peer inside, taking note of her sleeping form as Tsunami was in the process of covering her with a blanket. She looked up at Naruto before giving him a warm smile ushering him in.

"Hello Naruto-kun, come to check in on Ino?" She said as Naruto stood over her.

"How is she?" He said in a low voice, noticing how pale Ino's usually vibrant skin was.

"She was in pretty bad shape and her body had fell into shock. However, I think I was able to stabilize her good enough that she's safe. I'm keeping an eye on her just in case so you don't have to worry." She said looking up at him. "You should get some rest, I can tell you all had a hard time protecting my father and saving this town in the process. Honestly, we can't thank you all enough."

Naruto held his hand up as if to say it was no big deal before turning to leave the room. He closed the door softly, moving over to his room to get some rest. He threw off his jacket and shirt to before collapsing on top of his sleeping back. He sat there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling blankly. The events of the day replayed in his mind, and he closed his eyes again as tears began to well up in them.

For the first time ever, Naruto had doubted his dream.

* * *

 **A/N: That was definitely the hardest chapter for me to write so far. Yes, I know, you hate me for killing off Haku. Still though, this is the world of shinobi, people are going to die and sometimes it's going to be people that we care about. So don't kill me, alright?**


	9. A Visit From Within

"Yo."- speech

" _Yo"- thoughts_

 **"Yo"- Biju/summons**

 **Yo - Jutsu**

 **Chapter 9: A Visit From Within**

* * *

Following the events of the battle at the bridge, the rest of the mission went on with relative smoothness. Tazuna and his men continued to work on the bridge with Asuma, Naruto, and Shikamaru watching over just in case something were to happen. Ino was still bedridden and had only woken up once since the incident. Tsunami said she questioned about everyone's health before falling back to sleep after being assured everyone was safe.

Asuma sighed as he looked over the final workings of the bridge from the top of a pillar. He looked down at Shikamaru, who was laying down in the trunk of one of the workers vans taking a nap. He managed to convince the boy to hold all of his questions for when they returned to the village, but he knew he would need to cough up some answers then for sure. Shikamaru was far to intelligent, and would figure it out on his own soon enough even if he didn't receive help. Better for him to learn from people who had answers to the questions he would have, or at least some of them.

He turned his head to look over at Naruto, who was sitting on top of the railing of the bridge looking out at the lake. He had been rather reserved since the events of the battle, similar to the time when they had first became a team. This time though he wasn't actively avoiding them, just quiet in their presence as if he was lost in constant thought. Asuma blew out a little cigarette smoke as Tazuna began to walk over towards him.

"Alright, besides a few cosmetic designs and small changes, the bridge is finished." Tazuna said looking up at the man with a smile. "The suns already starting to fall, why don't you guys stay the night and return to your village in the morning?"

Asuma nodded to show he would accept the offer and hopped down to the ground. He dusted himself off before cupping his hands around his mouth to call Shikamaru and Naruto over.

"Shikamaru! Naruto! Let's go, we're heading back!" He yelled catching the two's attention. Naruto slid off the rail and walked over towards his sensei, Shikamaru following suit.

"The bridge is finished now right? Great, let's head home, this whole mission's been a drag." Shikamaru stuffing his hands in his pockets. Naruto stretched before he started walking towards the house, Asuma and Shikamaru following after him. They walked in relative silence until they reached their temporary place of residence, where they were greeted by a rather enthusiastic Inari.

"Naruto onii-chan, guess what! Ino-san woke up finally!" He yelled running to greet the boy. Everyone's eyes perked up at this as they quickly ran into the house to see her. Running upstairs, Naruto opened the door to her room to see her sitting up and being attended to by Tsunami. She looked up at him in surprise as the rest of the group joined them.

"Uh, hey guys how's it going?" She said with a awkward smile. Naruto sighed exhaustively as he leaned up against the door frame while Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. Asuma folded his arms over his chest as he walked over towards the blonde.

"You gave us quite the scare there you know, we were starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up." He said kneeling down near her. "How do you feel?"

"Like crap, but I guess that's expected when you get a kunai lodged into your stomach." She said sarcastically. "So fill me in, what happened at the bridge after I passed out?"

Shikamaru and Asuma both glanced at each other while Naruto looked away with his hands in his pockets. They had agreed earlier that it would probably be better to leave some bits of what happened out as Ino probably wasn't ready to handle it at that point. Hell, Shikamaru _still_ didn't even know what happened exactly and he was coherent at the time.

"I'll bring you up fresh bowl of water Tsunami-san." Naruto said before turning to head out the room. Ino looked at him quizzically before Asuma cleared his throat to grab her attention.

"Since you're just waking up, I won't bore you with all the details of the fight. After you passed out, coincidentally Naruto and Shikamaru had managed to get away from the hunter-nin and provide some support against Zabuza. Naruto free'd you from Zabuza's clutches, and after that we managed to take care of them together. Well, one of them anyway, we ended up letting Zabuza go." He said as Ino choked on the glass of water she was currently drinking.

"You let Zabuza escape? Why in the world would you do that?!" She yelled before wincing and grabbing her stomach. Asuma scratched his head and looked away as Shikamaru came over to take a seat.

"Turns out Naruto happened to actually know the hunter-nin personally. It was a girl that he'd been seeing ever since we came to the wave, and the two had gotten rather close. Her death shook both Naruto and Zabuza up, who didn't really pose any threat to us at that point so I figured why not." Asuma said with a shrug.

"Why not? How about your favorite student being gravely injured by said person!" She replied throwing her hands up in the air.

"Favorite student?" Asuma said looking at her with a scrunched up face before ducking under a roll of bandages thrown at him. Ino huffed before returning to her glass of water. She stopped however after remembering the other part of that explanation.

"Naruto knew the hunter-nin and they had to fight against each other? How did that end up working out?" She asked.

"Well if you haven't noticed Naruto isn't in the greatest of moods right now so you can pretty much guess." Shikamaru said, Ino glaring in response. Asuma sighed before deciding to fill her in on that himself after Shikamaru's lackluster response.

"Well, Shikamaru's not wrong about it working out pretty badly. Long story short, Naruto ended up killing her. Himself." He said as Ino gasped.

"Naruto killed someone?" She said quietly with her hand to her mouth. "I can't believe it."

"Yeah well seeing you in that state got him pretty riled up. He meant to take out Zabuza, but the girl ended up jumping into his path and taking the attack instead." Asuma said reaching for a cigarette but stopping at the firm stare of Tsunami. "Anyways, he's still pretty shook up about it so try not mention it too much."

It was then that said shinobi walked into the room with a fresh bowl of water. He handed it over to Tsunami who thanked him and sat it down next to her. Naruto took a seat next to the others and looked over at Ino worriedly.

"So how are you, it's nothing serious is it?" He said, face not hiding his worry at all. Ino shook her head and smiled at him gently.

"I should be fine with a little rest as long as I don't over exert myself. I'll be one hundred percent again in no time!" She said flexing her muscle and smacking it for extra effect. Naruto smiled at the sight and let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding in.

"That's good." He said nodding his head for effect. Tsunami smiled before standing up and making a shoving motion in the boy's direction.

"Alright guys, I need to change Ino's bandages so I'm going to have to ask you all to step out. She'll be able to join us at dinner so you can see her again then." She said as the group moved to leave the room. Naruto yawned before heading over to the room he was staying in.

"I think I'll take a nap before dinner…" he mumbled heading into the room. Shikamaru repeated his exact motions before heading in as well.

"Now you're starting to catch on Naruto." He said going into the room. Asuma stared at the now closed door blankly before shaking his head and heading downstairs.

"The next generation is in some interesting hands…"

* * *

 **(The Next Day)**

After a good night's rest, team 10 found themselves finally preparing to leave from the land of waves. Asuma was currently waiting on the bridge along with Shikamaru and Ino, looking around for any sight of Naruto.

"Where did he run off to anyways?" Ino asked while admiring the sun's reflection off of the water. Asuma sighed as he put his hand up over his eyes to peer down the bridge again in search of the blonde.

"He said he had some small matters to take care of and headed off early in the morning. I should've pressed him more for where he was going." Asuma said thinking back to the their conversation earlier. He was just about to give up when he saw something running towards them and squinted his eyes to get a better look.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" Naruto yelled as he was running towards them. Behind him seemed to be the entirety of the Wave country coming their way too, cheering and celebrating as Naruto came to stand next to his teammates.

"Looks like they wanted to come and see us off." He said with a grin, turning back around to watch them. Ino looked on in amazement at the sheer amount of people that were cheering them on before a big grin appeared on her face as well.

"It's almost like I'm famous…" she said before her grin grew even wider and she began to wave back at the crowd enthusiastically. Shikamaru even had a small section of girls waving at him specifically, which caused him to blush slightly much to the amusement of his sensei. Asuma watched on with a small smile before turning to head onto the road.

"Come on brats, we've got a lot of ground to cover before we're back in Konoha." He said as his students sent one last wave at the crowd of people before following after him.

"Just to be sure, we're taking a well deserved break from any mission for awhile after this one right?" Shikamaru asked rolling his neck tiredly. He'd seen enough action on this mission to last him a lifetime, several in his personal opinion.

"Well Ino has to recover from her injuries so we'll definitely be taking a short break from action. Still, I have to keep you guys in shape so there'll be training." He said looking over at Shikamaru. "Honestly the only reason I say that is because I know if I didn't bring you all together, you'd slack off on training completely. I doubt I have to worry about that from Naruto."

"You're a smart man Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru said looking up at the treeline. Asuma shook his head before staring ahead down the road they were going. Naruto meanwhile was trying everything in his power to make Ino's walk more comfortable, which was actually having the opposite effect.

"You know I could carry you if you want, maybe you shouldn't be walking around just yet." Naruto said as tick marks appeared on her head.

"Stop treating me like I'm some old crippled hag Naruto, I'm perfectly fine to walk!" She yelled pushing the boy away. Naruto looked at her in concern before throwing his hands behind his head and squinting his eyes.

"But Ino-chan, in your state right now you basically are an old crippled hag." He said absentmindedly, getting Asuma to facepalm as he could already see where this was going.

"Oh? And just what is that supposed to mean mister?"

"Well I'm just saying that right now you're a little weak and…"

"Are you calling me an old hag?"

"What?! No I was just-"

"You think I'm an old hag do ya?!"

The next few hours continued on like this until the group eventually settled down to camp out for the night. Naruto and Shikamaru took the liberty of setting up camp while Asum prepared them something to eat. Soon it was time for them to turn in and Naruto offered to take first shift. He was currently laying on top of a branch, the light from the stars reflecting off of his blue eyes. He was stirred from his thoughts when Asuma appeared on the branch next to him, seemingly preparing to take a smoke break.

"Jeez Asuma-sensei, I think it goes beyond addiction when you wake up from your sleep to take a smoke. Maybe you should invest in getting some help." He said looking over at his sensei.

"For one, I did not wake up out of my sleep to take a smoke. I was actually up thinking about how I was going to explain us continuing this mission to the old man. It's helps that we completed it, but I can still see the backlash coming our way, or my way specifically." He said taking a drag before looking over at his student. "So how are you holding up kid?"

"What are you talking about Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked looking back up at the sky. Asuma shifted himself into a more comfortable position before continuing.

"look kid, I've been in your position before. Taking your first life is never an easy thing to do no matter how much you prepare for it, and at least in my case it was a ninja that I can't even put a name or face too." He said pausing to consider his next words. "That situation...it could've went a lot better. It _should've_ went a lot better. Just goes to show there's a lot I have to learn still about this teaching and leadership stuff."

Naruto didn't say anything for awhile, instead just sort of looking at Asuma with a blank expression. It soon turned into a slight smile as he turned his head back over and rested his hands behind his head.

"For what it's worth, I think you're doing a good job Asuma-sensei. I mean, none of us are dead yet right? That's a good sign." He said getting a chuckle from the bearded man.

"Well I can't argue with that. Still, there's nothing you want to get off your chest?" He said asking his student one final time. Naruto simply shook his head negatively as he propped himself up into a sitting position.

"I've come to terms with it, for the most part at least. I guess it was just a little bit of a wake up call you know? That the life of a shinobi wasn't as rose colored as I thought it was." He said getting an approving nod from his sensei.

"Just remember that if you ever need anything, you've got your entire team here for you, not just me. You can come to any of us anytime. Now, how about you grab some shut eye kid, we're heading straight for Konoha first thing in the morning." Asuma replied.

"Sure thing, and thanks Asuma-sensei." Naruto said before dropping down to the ground and heading over to his sleeping bag. He made a show of purposely stepping on Shikamaru's back, who mumbled something about troublesome blondes but otherwise didn't react.

' _Sometimes he's as mature as a seasoned veteran and other days as immature as a ignorant brat. I just can't get a read on the kid.'_ Asuma thought, preparing to bunker down for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **(The Next Day)**

"Home! Sweet! Home!"

Ino's face was beaming as she threw her arms up into the air at the sight of Konoha's gates. Naruto walked up behind her grinning with his hands behind his head with Shikamaru following.

"Never thought I'd ever be so happy to see these gates again. I wonder what should I do first, grab some ramen or check up on my apartment?" Naruto said as they walked up to the gates. Shikamaru scoffed as they walked over to the sign in booth.

"Only you would have such a dilemma." He said getting a laugh from Ino. Naruto was about to burst into a rant about how it was really a serious problem when Asuma walked up and ruffled his hair, silencing him.

"Save your ramblings about ramen for later Naruto. Anyways, how's it going Kotetsu and Izumo?" He said addressing the two men sitting inside the booth. Kotetsu, the one with a bandage over his face , grinned at the older man before passing him a form.

"How's it going _Asuma-sensei_ , these are your kids huh?" He said amusingly scanning over the group. His eyes lingered on Naruto a little longer than the rest before his attention was reverted back to the form as Asuma handed it over. "Alright, you guys are good to go, head on inside."

"Thanks and by the way, where's Izumo?" Asuma said as they were heading in. Kotetsu shrugged and leaned back in his chair balancing a pencil on his nose.

"He went to go take a leak, probably got his zipper stuck or something." Kotetsu answered to the amusement of team 10. As they got into the gate, Asuma turned around to face his team.

"Alright, as of now you guys are officially off duty. I'm going to go report to the old man but you guys are free to do whatever you want." He said walking off with a wave over his shoulder. Shikamaru yawned as he began walking in the direction of his clan's compound.

"Guess I'll go tell my parents I'm home, troublesome..." He said walking off with his hands in his pockets. Those words seemed to perk Ino up as well as she began to walk down the main road.

"I need to tell my parents I'm back too," she said before stopping to turn back to Naruto. "See you later Naruto, try to stay out of trouble alright?"

Naruto simply held his hand up as a way of saying goodbye as he watched her disappear down the street. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head as he looked around the village in thought.

"What to do, what to do…" he mumbled to himself as he continued to look around. "I guess I'll just head over to Ichiraku's."

With his mind made up, Naruto began to make his way over to the ramen shop. He looked around the village absentmindedly, duly noting the small changes that had happened over the two weeks they were gone. Eventually he came upon the ramen shop, and slid his way into the homey restaurant with a content small.

"Ahhhh, home sweet home." He said sliding up onto a stool. He propped his head in his hands as he waited for someone to come from the back room, content smile still present on his face.

"Sorry for the delay, how can I hel- Naruto-kun? Is that you?" Ayame said as she walked into view. Naruto flashed her his trademark grin as he threw his hand up in salute.

"Hey Ayame-neechan, how's it going?" He said as the girl leaned over the counter.

"Well it's been a little quiet without our favorite customer here but other than that everything's been well. What can I get you?" She asked.

"Let me start off with three bowls of miso ramen and see where we go from there." He said getting a giggle from Ayame.

"Coming right up Naruto-kun. So how was your mission, this was your first time leaving the village right?" She asked while she was making his order. Naruto sighed as he slouched down on the counter, small pout present on his face.

"I think for the first time in my life I'm truly tired. So much happened that I don't even know where to start." He said as a bowl of ramen was placed next to him.

"Well it's not like I'm going anywhere, so why don't you go ahead and lay it on me." She said preparing the next helping. Naruto obliged as he told her the events that took place in the wave country while enjoying his ramen at the same time. By the end, Ayame was sitting on a stool next to him listening to his story in amazement.

"Wow," she said as Naruto finished up. "That was...something."

"Yeah, pretty crazy right? I think I'm gonna' head home and try to sleep some of this fatigue off. By the way, where's old man Teuchi?" Naruto asked getting up from his sitting spot.

"He wasn't feeling too well so he stayed at home today, I'll tell him that you came by though." Ayame said as Naruto stretched tiredly. He smiled at her before turning to head out of the shack.

"Great, see you later Ayame-neechan!" He yelled as he started off for his apartment. After a slow stroll through the village he arrived at his front door, fumbling through his bag for his keys.

"Where is it...where is it...damn it I know I brought it with me...where the hell is thi-oh hey, here it is." He said finally pulling it out from the bottom of his bag. He put it inside of the keyhole and tried to turn it only to find that the lock wouldn't budge. He tried it a couple more times before kicking the door in frustration as the lock still wouldn't open.

"What the hell is wrong with this thing?" He said stepping back in thought. It was then that he took notice of the red sheet of paper hanging on his door.

 _Eviction Notice: Failure to pay rent. Please see landlord for any further information._

Naruto's jaw hung on the floor as he stared at the sign in shock. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his bag and walked down the stairs in a huff, going up to his landlord's door and banging on it with his fist.

"Hey, open up you asswipe! What kind of person evicts a twelve year old kid!" He yelled continuing to knock on the door. When it was clear no one was coming, he stepped back in frustration before he took note of a another piece of paper on his landlord's door.

 _Gone on vacation, be back in two weeks!_

Naruto stared at the door blankly before grabbing his bag silently and walking back out onto the street. He stood there for a minute in thought before sighing and heading deeper into the village. Eventually he arrived at another apartment compound and walked up the stairs, looking at the doors numbers as he walked by.

"Let's see...no...no...here it is!" He said as he stopped in front a door. Clearing his throat and seemingly bracing himself, he knocked on the door and stepped back as he waited for an answer. At first it was silent, but then he heard something fall and a voice cursing as they shuffled towards the door. He heard locks unlocking and looked up as the door opened and Anko stood there, looking down at him in both surprise and irritation.

"Gaki, your back? What are you doing here it's, damn near two in the morning?" She asked as the blonde looked away sheepishly.

"I kind of got evicted from my apartment and I don't really have anywhere else to go so I was hoping I could crash at your place for the night?" He asked pointing at her with both hands. For a minute the two stood there in silence and Naruto now had a small drop of sweat going down his head as he was preparing to get rejected. Anko sighed and opened her door fully, walking away as Naruto simply peered inside.

"Well are you coming or not gaki?" She asked turning around. Naruto jumped slightly and scrambled to grab his bag as he made his way inside. Closing the door behind him, he took a look around the apartment to see what exactly he was walking into.

' _Wow, it's a lot more mellow than I was expecting.'_ He thought to himself moving farther inside. The apartment was rather bare, having little furniture spread about and pearled colored painting. It was also pretty clean besides the magazines spread about and random dishes laying around. Naruto walked over to the couch and took a seat, setting his bag down next to him.

"I'm going to take a shower brat, make yourself at home and don't buy any movies unless you plan on paying for them." She said stretching as she disappeared down the hall. She stumbled over something as she went into the bathroom, Naruto shaking his head as he laid down on the couch.

"Judging by her scent Anko's been drinking so she's probably going to pass out after her shower. Guess I can sleep comfortably knowing that." He thought as he looked up at the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he slowly drifted off to sleep, for the first time in awhile not having to worry about something. His short slumber was interrupted however by a magazine being thrown at his head, waking him up in a start as he quickly flicked it off.

Looking up, he saw none other than Anko standing over him, glowering down at him with a slight blush on her face indicating she indeed was under the influence. The part that caught Naruto however was her attire, seeing as she was wearing nothing but a plain white tshirt and from his laying position he could clearly see her…

"GAAHH!" He yelled shooting up to a sitting position with a blush on his face. Anko jumped back a little at the unexpected outburst but quickly regained herself and took a seat next to the boy on the couch.

"I'm done with the shower now, so you can use it," she said yawning before taking a drink from her glass of water. "More like you need to use it, you smell like a barn kid."

Naruto was about to retort before smelling himself and wincing at the scent. It was then that he remembered that he hadn't taken a shower since they left Tazuna's house and he had been sleeping outside. Grumbling, he grabbed some clothes from his bag and began to make his way to the bathroom until a thought popped in his head.

"Hey wait a minute, if I got evicted then where the hell is all of my stuff?!" He yelled turning around to the purple hair mistress.

"They probably shipped it off to storage, you're going to have to pay to get it back." She said yawning and flipping through the tv. Naruto's head fell in defeat as he made his way into the bathroom.

After taking his much needed shower, he returned to the living room only to find Anko sprawled out over the couch asleep. Naruto stared at the sight, eye twitching in irritation before moving over towards where she was sleeping. Grabbing her carefully so as not to wake her or grab anything that could get him in trouble, he carried her down the hall into her bedroom, where he stepped over a pile of clothes before dropping her down onto her bed. She mumbled something about a rope before grabbing onto a pillow and squeezing it tightly. Naruto sighed before making his way back into the living room and dropping back down on the couch.

' _Yup, this is definitely not how I expected life as a shinobi to be.'_ He thought drifting off to sleep again.

* * *

After waking up to a angry Anko, who he had to explain his being there to again seeing as she didn't remember anything from the last night, Naruto found himself making his way to his team's training ground. Asuma hadn't called for the team to meet up, but seeing as he didn't have anything better to do he figured he might as well get some training in. Walking into the center of the field, he called out 20 clones to help him out, pulling out his tanto as the others did the same.

"Alright guys, let's get some serious training in with this thing. Come at me with everything you've got!" He said getting 'Oorah!' from his clone adversaries. Naruto had been reading a book on how to properly use the blade, studying techniques and fighting moves he could use it to pull off. He didn't have anytime to practice it before heading out on the mission though, so he had been waiting until he returned to the village to do so rather than using it in the field and getting killed.

Twiddling it in his hand, he used the tanto to block two attacks from his clones before jumping backwards in the air with a flip. Spinning i in a fashion similar to a helicopter, he floated in the air for a little while as the currents it was causing allowed him to stay suspended. He landed on the ground, nodding his head in satisfaction as that technique seemingly worked pretty well.

"One down, plenty more to go…" he thought as his clones began to attack again. For the rest of the morning anyone who walked by the training ground could hear the sounds of the young shinobi battling himself, continuing well into the afternoon where he found himself lying in the middle of the field panting in exhaustion. He tried to lift his body up to move but found that he was unable to, so he simply laid there in thought of what to do next.

"Maybe I over did it a little…" he chuckled to himself as he breathing started to settled down. All of a sudden he felt a tug in the back of his mind, as if something was pulling him into unconsciousness. At first he resisted because the feeling was something he had never felt before, and for some reason there was a sense of dread coming along with it. Eventually though his exhaustion got the better of him and he allowed himself to be pulled by whatever it was calling calling him. It felt as if he had just closed his eyes when they suddenly shot open again as he found himself in a completely different place than the training ground.

This new place looked as though it was some short of underground tunnel, with the only source of light being the ones on top of the ceiling in a straight row, giving the tunnel and bright blue glow. The entire wall and floor was made up of gray concrete and running through both of them was a series of ragged, red glowing lines that ran down the further into the tunnel. Naruto squinted as he tried to see further down, taking notice that the path eventually splitted in two. After a short debate with himself he decided he might as well follow it even if he had no clue where it led to, it was better than standing there doing nothing.

Walking down the path, he came upon the split in the path that led both left and right. Strangely enough, Naruto didn't even hesitate as he turned down the left path and continued walking. He came upon another split path, turning left this time as well as he simply followed the indescribable calling that had first pulled him down here. Continuing to traverse the maze he was in, he eventually walked into a clearing that expanded endlessly up top were a ceiling usually would be. The room was huge and a metallic gray color just as the tunnel was. The red lines on the walls and floor continued into this room, leading into a large cage like structure that stood opposite of Naruto.

A series of metal bars shot up from the ground and into the darkness in the sky from one side of the room to the other, with nothing but darkness sitting behind them. Naruto at this point was entirely freaked out, but figured that he had came this far already and there wasn't any point in stopping now. Steeling his resolve, he walked up to the bars slowly and peered inside from distance, looking for any sign of what was inside.

He jumped back in surprise however when he was met with a giant eye opening up and staring at him. He took notice of its red color and the slit iris that it held, confirming to himself that whatever it was behind this cage was not human. The darkness inside the cage slowly began to disappear, with whatever it was behind the cage becoming more and more visible. It didn't take long for Naruto to realize what it was however, especially when he took note of the nine tails flashing behind it rapidly.

"Kyuubi…" he whispered to himself as he stared at its full form. The giant fox continued to stare at him with one eye from his laying position, giving Naruto the impression that he was looking him over. Eventually, he closed his eye and snuggled further into his arms almost as if he was going to continue his slumber. Naruto began to relax again before the booming voice of the creature rang through out.

" **So my container finally comes to pay a visit, hmm? What's the matter boy, do you not know how to speak?"** The fox said without moving his mouth. His voice filled up the entire room, vibrating deeply into Naruto's very existence who found himself unable to say anything. He tried to respond, but seemed to have lost all control of his voice and only opened and closed his mouth silently. The Kyuubi chuckled at the sight before opening up both of his eyes to stare at him.

" **It's only natural to be struck by fear when placed next to a being as omnipotent as myself. Still, it won't do to not be able to conversate with my host now will it? I'm afraid you're going to have to find your voice** _ **Naruto."**_ He said growling out the last part and causing Naruto to yelp in fear. The Kyuubi laughed at the boy's outburst, looking down at the him as he had now fallen on his behind.

" **Much better."** He continued before bursting into another round of laughter as Naruto slowly controlled his breathing and looked up at the beast.

"W-where are we?" He asked a little more timidly than he would have liked. The foxes laughter stopped as he looked back down at the boy, his grin growing wider.

" **So the boy is able to speak after all? What a surprise, I had you figured for being a little off, though I guess that still is the case."** The beast said getting a small glare from Naruto in return. " **We are inside of the seal that keeps me locked inside of your body, set in place by that great fourth Hokage of yours. Pity that he passed away, I had some** _ **things**_ **that I wanted to share with him."**

"We're inside of the seal? But how did I get down here in the first place?" Naruto asked looking around. None of this was exactly making any sense to him, and him being scared out of his mind right now wasn't exactly helping on that front.

" **You were probably pulled here by my very own presence. Seeing as you've used my power, you're now more susceptible to my influence. This new connection likely lured you down here in a moment we're your conscious was weak."** The Kyuubi answered laying back down on his paws and closing his eyes. Naruto took a moment to process what he was saying before standing up to his feet.

"So that was your power that I was using while I was fighting on the bridge." Naruto said staring down at his hands and clenching them. "Why did you help me back there?"

The beast snorted and flared his tails behind him in response to Naruto's questions. Naruto glared as a feeling of anger washed over him and he stepped closer to the cage.

"Hey, I'm talking to you here! Don't ignore me furball!" He yelled stepping up to the bars. In an instant, the Kyuubi was on his feet and his claws shot through the spaces in between the bars of the cage as glared down at Naruto. The lines running throughout the room glowed brighter and turned a deeper shade of red as both the Kyuubi and Naruto stood there glaring at each other. Naruto's eyes had unknowingly turned red in response to his anger, though he hadn't completely transformed yet as that was only change present.

" **You'd best watch your tongue boy, I'd have no problem with ripping your tiny body to shreds in the span of a second."** The biju growled lowering his head to meet eye level with Naruto's. The blonde haired boy held his glare as his fist balled up at his side, though he didn't reply. Kyuubi slowly backed away before returning back to his laying position, closing his eyes and burying his head back into his arms.

" **I helped you only because you were too weak to do what was needed to be done, and you dying would be a problem for me as well."** He said as Naruto relaxed a little, eyes reverting back to their blue state. " **Make no mistake, I care none for your well being. Everything I do is to ensure that I survive and live to see the day where I can break free of this prison and rip those responsible for setting me here to shreds."**

"The fourth Hokage's already dead, what are you talking about?" Naruto said curiously turning his head to the side. The Kyuubi didn't respond, simply closing his eyes and swaying his tails behind him.

" **Enough with your questions, you're interrupting my slumber. Go back to that waste land of a village you call home."** He said before swiping his tail in Naruto's direction. A blast of wind flew in his direction that lifted him off of the ground and into darkness above him screaming all the way. When he finally disappeared completely, the Kyuubi opened one of his eyes again to look up into the void before closing it.

" **You've piped my interest boy…"** he mumbled to himself before falling back asleep.

* * *

"You know you are able to actually pick up and move the pieces, don't you Asuma-sensei?"

"Shut up kid…" Asuma grumbled looking over the shogi board in thought. He was currently playing Shikamaru after he agreed to come over and explain what exactly went down at the bridge with Naruto. Hesitating slightly, he finally grabbed a piece and moved it. Looking up at Shikamaru, he saw his eyes were focused on the board as he stared at the piece Asuma just moved. He then looked up at his sensei, and ever so slightly tugged his lips upward in the smallest of smiles.

"Oh for the love of-!" Asuma said throwing his hands up in the air as Shikamaru moved one his pieces. He looked back up to his sensei and placed his head on his fist.

"You're so predictable that it's not even funny." He said though he was enjoying seeing his teacher fret. Asuma sighed as he pulled out his carton of cigarettes to relieve his stress. After lighting one, he stared at the glowing tip of his cigarette quietly before looking back up at Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, how much do you know about the night the Kyuubi came to attack Konoha?" He asked suddenly startling the boy. Shikamaru scrunched his face up in thought before shrugging and leaning back a little.

"Well I know it was a sudden attack that no one had expected. It broke through our villages defense and was running rampant until the Fourth Hokage managed to put a stop to it at the cost of his own life. Why?" Shikamaru asked leaning forward a little more seriously now.

"Do you know how the Fourth managed to deal with it?" Asuma asked his student, who looked up in thought.

"He killed it right? The academy never said how he did it but I at least remember that much." He said thinking back to their lesson on the topic. It was something they only briefly touched on so he had trouble remembering the details. Asuma sighed as he exhaled a large cloud of smoke.

"What I'm about to tell you is an S-rank secret that for all intents and purposes, you should not be hearing but it would be to troublesome if you figured it out on your own. You are _not_ to discuss this anywhere else, are we clear?" Asuma said sternly, getting a stiff nod from Shikamaru who was effectively on edge now.

"First thing first, the Kyuubi as you know it is not your ordinary being. It's what we refer to as a biju, which are basically giant masses of chakra that have taken solid forms and gained consciousness." Asuma explained, Shikamaru trying to follow along. "The one thing I want you to really take from that is that Biju's are essentially _masses of chakra,_ you follow?"

Shikamaru nodded again, taking in this new information but not exactly knowing where he was going with this.

"Now, think back to what you told me earlier. What happened between the Kyuubi and the Fourth Hokage?" Asuma asked taking a drag from his square.

"The Fourth engaged in battle with the Kyuubi and eventually ended up killi-" Shikamaru started before stopping abruptly. He looked up at Asuma with his mouth open, but no words came out of it as he closed it slowly and looked away in thought.

"Figured it out?" Asuma asked as the boy simply continued to stare out into the forest. He was silent for awhile before turning back towards Asuma, face stern with concentration.

"If the Kyuubi is made up entirely of chakra, than there would be no way to kill it since you can't theoretically kill chakra." Shikamaru said grabbing his chin in thought. "But if he didn't kill it, then what did the fourth do? And why would the Academy lie to us about it?"

"That's the important question." Asuma said smiling down at his student. He was about to begin speaking again when Shikamaru suddenly beat him too it.

"If the Fourth didn't kill the Kyuubi then he had to have disposed of it some other way. How in the hell do you defeat something that's entirely made up of chakra though?" Shikamaru said mumbling quietly to himself. Asuma was once again about to butt in when Shikamaru's head snapped up in Asuma's direction.

"He would've had to have sealed it inside of something wouldn't he? That would be the only way to quickly remove a chakra source of that stature. And judging by the power of the Kyuubi he wouldn't have been able to throw it inside of any old scroll either, it would have had to be something that could contain its power." Shikamaru said putting everything together. He sat in silence for a while, Asuma watching him as he mulled over everything he just learned. Finally, Shikamaru eyes met with Asuma's as he looked up from his spot on the porch.

"Naruto's the Kyuubi's container, isn't he?"

Asuma simply nodded his head as Shikamaru groaned and grabbed his head with both hands. He collapsed onto his back, both hands still covering his eyes as he continued to put the final puzzles in place.

"It all makes sense. If I remember correctly, Naruto's birthday is on the same day as when it attacked. It also explains why it feels like the villagers treated him differently, almost as if they held a disdain for him." He said arms falling to the side. "And the dark feeling that his chakra gave off while we were inside of the dome, yeah that definitely feels like something the Kyuubi would be capable of doing."

Asuma nodded as he moved to sit down on the steps, looking up at the stars. Shikamaru pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked down at the shogi board in thought.

"So Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. I'm guessing the reason it's such a huge secret is to protect him?" Shikamaru asked getting a nod from his sensei.

"My old man passed that law in hopes of keeping the younger generation from finding out and also Naruto himself." He said as Shikamaru came to sit next to him.

"So Naruto doesn't know that it's inside of him?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh no, Naruto's well aware of his status. He didn't find out though until that week that you all first became genins, for a number of reasons." Asuma answered as Shikamaru massaged his temple.

"Troublesome, this is way too much for one night." Shikamaru said trying to ease the headache that was forming in his head.

"For once I won't disagree with you there." Asuma said before turning over towards him. "Listen Shikamaru, I don't want you to tell Anyone else in your class about this, not even Ino. It's still an S-rank secret, and as you can probably imagine this getting out would be detrimental to a lot of people, especially Naruto."

"Yeah, I hear you." Shikamaru said looking off in thought. After a moment he stood up from his sitting position and dusted his pants off, heading towards the door of his house.

"I think I'm going to go sleep on all of this for awhile if you don't mind, I'll see you later Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru said going into his home. The backyard was silent for awhile until the creak of floorboards sounded off as someone came towards Asuma.

"Well I think he handled it well enough for the most part." Shikaku said stepping out from the shadows. Asuma sighed as he leaned back on his hands a little and looked over at his friend.

"His intelligence truly scares me sometimes, he's definitely your son." Asuma said as Shukaku chuckled in response.

"I have a feeling Shikamaru's going to be a totally different monster than I am, something we can't even comprehend." The man said as Asuma looked forward.

"Yup, and I'm in charge of guiding that mind. Now that's troublesome." Asuma said scratching the back of his head.

* * *

Naruto had managed to drag himself back to Anko's apartment after his encounter with the Kyuubi, with much effort on his end. Moving into the living room, he laid there for awhile as he replayed the events that just took place over again in his head, groaning as he moved to make his way into the bathroom.

"I have to have a top five most stressful life in the world, undoubtedly." He said as he opened the door into the room, deciding that he was so tired he'd complete this task with his eyes closed like he usually did at home. He quickly threw off his clothes and grabbed a towel as he moved over to the sliding door leading to the bath and shower portion of the room.

"Oh yeah, this is exactly what I need to relax myself!" He said as he threw open the door into the room. He hummed a tune as he walked inside, stopping when he heard the sound of running water around him.

' _Running water? Did Anko leave something on in here by mistake?'_ He thought opening his eyes with a frown. They went wide eyed immediately as his adolescent eyes landed on Anko, completely naked with water running down her body as she used the shower rod. She stared at him blankly as he looked at her with his mouth agape, trying but failing to form any type of words. Slowly, she reached over towards the knob and turned the shower off, turning back around to stare at Naruto sweetly.

"Like what you see gaki?" She said smiling even wider as she stepped towards Naruto, who was stumbling over his words as he backed up.

"I-I-I, I mean t-this was an accident Anko-no wait Anko-sama, I swear!" He said backing up while laughing nervously. "I barely saw anything, I promise!"

"Oh yeah? Well your little buddy down there is saying a different story." She said smiling even wider as Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. Deciding to make a run of it, he turned to make a dash for the door before he was grabbed by his towel and thrown backwards into the bathtub, where he looked up at Anko in horror as she walked towards him.

"No sense in leaving now brat, let's enjoy ourselves!" She said pulling out kunai from behind her back.

"Where did you even get that from?!" Naruto yelled as she moved closer. Throughout the the night, the neighbors heard the sounds of yelling and pleading coming from Anko's apartment, and Naruto wouldn't be seen again inside of the village for three days.

* * *

A/N: **Welp, the wave arc is officially over. Now we'll get into the chunin exams arc, which is personally one of my favorites because this is where the story can really kick off in terms of plot.**

 **If you guys have any questions regarding the story, drop em in the reviews and I'll try to answer them as long as it doesn't spoil anything. Also, if you want me to start making those data entries so you can see where everyone stands strength wise that I've seen in other fics, I'll do that as well.**


	10. Exams

"Yo."- speech

" _Yo"- thoughts_

 **"Yo"- Biju/summons**

 **Yo - Jutsu**

 **Chapter 10: Exams**

* * *

"Naruto! Did you forget to turn off the oven again?!"

Naruto sighed as he continued to put on his sandals and head out of the door. For the past two months he had been staying at Anko's apartment because, for lack of better words, they had grown used to each other. After a rather interesting run in with his landlord after his return from his vacation, Naruto learned that his apartment complex was actually being sold to a local company specializing in making drapes. Even he couldn't find a way to brighten that situation up.

"I'm heading out Anko, and I'm pretty sure that was you this time!" He yelled before closing the door and making his way over to the stairs. Asuma had called for a rather abrupt team meeting out of nowhere, which is where he was currently making his way towards. It was pretty strange, seeing as they had just returned from a mission prior. Walking down the street, he spotted Ino yawning in front of him and walked faster to catch up to her.

"Goodmorning Ino-chan!" He yelled slapping her on the back. He instantly regretted that choice when she began to cough uncontrollably, glaring up at him when she finally regained her composure.

"What the hell's your problem whiskers!" She yelled as she straightened herself out. Naruto laughed sheepishly as the two continued their way over to the training ground.

"Sorry, I forget my own strength sometimes." He apologized half assedly getting the finger in response. "So what do you think Asuma-sensei wants?"

"Whatever it is, I hope he doesn't expect me to do it this weekend. I'm planning to use this time to cleanse my body and soul, restoring the pureness that makes me who I am." Ino said smiling gracefully. Naruto blinked in her direction before squinting his eyes and turning forward.

"You're pretty weird, you know that?" He said Ino snorting to retort.

"This coming from the boy who sleeps in panda pajamas and prays to a ramen god at night." She said rolling her eyes.

"Hey! Only one of those is correct!"

"Is that so?"

"You bet your ass it is, I sleep in just my underwear now!"

Ino face faulted into the ground while Naruto continued on, face held up in pride that he had won that little game of wits. Pulling herself together again for the second time today, Ino held her head in her hands as she shook her head at her teammate.

"Honestly, I don't even know where to begin with you…" she mumbled as they made their way into the training grounds. Shikamaru and Asuma were already there, talking about something related to shogi before the two came walking up towards.

"Good, you're all here, guess we can get this over with." He said turning to face his other two students. Ino huffed as she threw her arms over her chest, looking up at her sensei with a bored expression.

"What is it Asuma-sensei, we just got off of a mission so I hope you don't expect me to be taking on another one." She said frowning.

"Nope, nothing of the short my dear. In fact, depending on how things go here you guys won't be taking on an official mission for quite awhile." He said smiling while reaching into his vest. He pulled out three slips of papers, handing them to each of his students as they gazed down at them curiously. Naruto was the first to look back up, squinting his eyes at his sensei.

"So are you gonna' explain what this is or am I just going to sit here feeling stupid?"

"You're always feeling stupid."

"That hurts Ino-chan…"

"Ahem." Asuma grunted getting the two's attention again. "Before you two breakout into one of your famed theatrics, perhaps I can explain what you're holding in your hands first."

He was about to continue when he saw Shikamaru holding the form back out towards him. Asuma scratched his head in confusing before pointing down at him.

"Um, what are you doing kid?" He asked as Shikamaru looked away.

"I don't know what this is about, but the fact that I have to sign a form shows me that it's something to troublesome to be bothered with, so I'll pass." He said still holding the slip of paper out to his sensei. Asuma and Ino stared at him blankly while Naruto continued to stare down at the paper confusedly.

"Who the hell makes a form for you to sign up with without putting what it's about on it?" He asked getting Ino to nod her head in agreement.

"I agree, it's completely unethical. Who does something like this?" She said as the two broke into a discussion about how the tactfulness of the world was dropping drastically. Asuma looked over to see that Shikamaru had decided to lie down in the grass and take a nap, using the form as a headrest along with his hands. His eye twitched uncontrollably as his patience began to reach it's boiling point.

"You know what, forget that I even called you guys out here! Just give me the damn slips of papers back and go home!" He yelled shocking the group as they stared up at him in shock. Silence fell over the area as no one could find the words to say, until Naruto broke the ice.

"Geez Asuma-sensei, no need for you to blow a gasket. We were just waiting for you to explain what was going on." He said, Ino once again nodding in agreement.

"Don't tell us you called us out here just to waste our time. That's so inconsiderate sensei, really." She said shaking her head in disappointment.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru mumbled as he sat up from his laying position. Asuma stared at the group ludicrously as they had somehow managed to turn what was happening against him.

"Wha- I don't even- you were jus-" he stumbled before stopping to take a deep breath. Pulling himself together, he pulled out a cigarette to calm himself before continuing.

"Yeah, so those are the forms for the upcoming Chunin exams. Fill em' out if you feel like you're up to the challenge." He said flippantly leaning up against a tree in exhaustion.

"Woah, these are for the chunin exams? You mean we can really compete if we want to, even though we're rookie genin?" Naruto asked in excitement as he began to search around his person for a writing utensil. Asuma tossed him a pen, which he fumbled to catch as the older man went on to answer his question.

"Whether you're a rookie genin or not has nothing to do with if you're capable of being a chunin. If you meet the criteria, you meet the criteria, experience be damned." Asuma said as Naruto hurriedly scribbled his name on the piece of paper, handing it up to Ino when he was done. She looked at it tentatively before taking it from him and looking back over at Asuma.

"So is that it? Isn't there something else you should be telling us, some information we need to know?" She asked feeling that Asuma's explanation was rather bare.

"Well, the exam will be hosting shinobi from all the elemental villages, not just Konoha, so you can expect there to be a lot of people. Dangerous people as well, so you'd better keep your guard up. You'll be partaking in a series of test meant to test your skills as a shinobi and ultimately decide whether or not you'll be appointed chunin. Oh, and it's not taking place here in the village, but outside. Kumogakure if I remember correctly." He said as Ino finished signing the paper. She handed the pen over to Shikamaru, who took it and stared at it in thought before looking back up at his sensei.

"Do we have to?" He asked getting a head shake from his instructor.

"Nope, you don't have to, though if one of you ops not to do it then the whole team can't because you need a full squad to compete." Asuma replied smugly, watching as Shikamaru's eyes went wide slightly at that bit of information.

He could feel another pair glaring into the back of his skull, and though he wasn't entirely sure, he was pretty sure they belonged to a certain male blond teammate of his. Sighing, he signed his name on his form as well before handing it back up towards his sensei, who collected them all and nodded his head in approval.

"Good, I'll take these over to the Hokage and that'll be that. You guys have two weeks to prepare for it, so I'd advise that you make the most of it." He said walking out of the training ground. Ino and Shikamaru watched him leave until the sound of fidgeting next to them caught their attention. They both turned to see Naruto shaking in place, fist closed tightly at his side.

"Can you believe it guys, we might actually be able to become Chunins! We haven't even been Genin for a year yet!" He yelled, the wide smile on his face growing even wider. Shikamaru sighed before standing up and stretching, looking back over at Naruto passively.

"You make it sound like this is going to be a walk in the park. Do you have any idea how dangerous these tournaments can get?" He said, narrowing his eyes a little. "Not to mention we have you, Mr. "I attract trouble everywhere I go" coming along. With your luck we might run into a unstoppable psychopathic killer or two."

 **(Meanwhile in Sunagakure)**

"Gaara? You're not catching a cold are you?"

 **(Back in Konoha)**

"Aw shucks Shikamaru, what are the chances of that happening? I'll tell you, absolutely zero. You've gotta' learn how to loosen up man, we'll be fine!" Naruto said patting his shoulder.

"Still, two weeks isn't exactly a lot of time to prepare. This whole thing was kind of just dumped on us, maybe we should've took a little time to decide." Ino said hold her chin in thought. Naruto rolled his eyes before grabbing her arm and pulling her up to her feet as well. He pulled the two into a head locking hug and grinned as he led them into the village.

"You guys are worrying way to much. Come on, let's go grab some breakfast! How about ichira-"

"No!" Shikamaru and Ino yelled in unison, getting a sigh out of the blond.

"Worth a shot…"

* * *

After parting ways with his teammates, Naruto found himself aimlessly wandering around the village, searching for something to keep him occupied. He sighed as he turned a corner, preparing to head back to the apartment and get some sleep seeing as it was still rather early in the day. He stopped however when heard someone calling out to him, turning around and squinting his eyes down the street.

"Is that...Kiba?" He said squinting harder is the figure came closer into view. He straightened up when he saw that it was his old friend, running up towards him with Akamaru sitting on top of his head.

"Hey man, how's it hanging?" The boy said running up to Naruto, feral grin present on his face. Naruto returned it as the two fist bumped, Kiba following after Naruto as the two began to walk down the street.

"Nothing much, just left a meeting with Asuma-sensei that didn't last as long as I expected so now I'm pretty much assed out." Naruto said getting a chuckle from Kiba.

"Let me guess, you guys are participating in the Chunin exams as well?" He asked getting Naruto to look up at him in shock.

"Wow, you guys are going to? Man, this is going to be awesome!" Naruto yelled throwing his hands behind his head. Kiba nodded in agreement with Akamai barking for added effort.

"Yup, looks like all of our graduating class is going to be competing. They're calling us the 'Rookie Nine'." Kiba said adding in quotation marks for sarcasm.

"Well looks like it's just another chance for me to prove how much better I am than you group of slackers." Naruto said challenging, getting Kiba to laugh out loud at the statement.

"Oh please, this coming from the guy with the biggest slacker in the history of the world on his team. There's no way his habits haven't rubbed off on you at least a little." Kiba said. Naruto was about to retort until he realized that Shikamaru's ways had rubbed on him a little, so instead he settled for silence as Kiba laughed even harder.

"Besides that," Kiba started, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Seeing as you have nothing else to do, how about we go do a little...exploring."

"Exploring? What are you five?" Naruto said getting Kiba's eye to twitch irritably.

"Not that kind of exploring you idiot! I'm talking about a different kind…" he said grinning down the street. "Come on, I'll show ya!"

With that, Kiba took off running down the street. Naruto watched him for a moment before shrugging and following after him, catching up a moment later. The two eventually ran over to the outer areas of the village, around the hot springs.

"What are we doing out here Kiba?" Naruto asked looking around. He had unzipped his jacket, the heat in the area getting to him slightly. Kiba simply smiled as he lead Naruto around towards the back of the springs, making sure to move quietly .

"I overheard Sakura talking about how her and some of the others were going to meet up at the hotsprings for a little relaxing." He said turning around with a nosebleed and pair of binoculars in his hands. "I thought we could take a little looky look, you in?"

Now Naruto was a man of strict morals who would never cross the boundaries of what he deemed as being indecent. However, at the same time he was a 13 year old boy who lived in the house with a beautiful woman who liked to sleep in nothing but oversized t shirts, spurring on his imagination plenty of times at night.

In other words, his hormones were up and running.

"You bet your mother's ass I'm in." Naruto said seriously, following after Kiba as they continued to walk around the perimeter. Eventually they came upon what Kiba must have set up earlier, a little breach in the wall that allowed the two a clear look into the hot springs. Kiba kneeled down next to it, placing the binoculars against the opening and looking inside.

"Now let's see if they've made it in yet…" Kiba mumbled looking around. He fell silent for a while, Naruto growing impatient behind him as he slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, what the hell's happening?" He asked irritably as Kiba swatted him away.

"I'm not seeing anyone yet! They must not be here ye-hellooooooo!" Kiba said stopping mid sentence as something caught his attention. He fell silent again, though this time Naruto could tell it was for other reasonings as he started to pant slightly.

"Man, this great, I don't even know who this girl with the buns is but man, I like." Kiba said as Naruto grew more irritated. "I mean it's- good lord is that really Ino?"

"Alright, my turn dog brains!" Naruto yelled pushing him over. Ignoring his whispers of disagreement, Naruto grabbed the binoculars and put them up against the hole, focusing them to peer inside.

' _Alright, let's see here…'_ he thought as he was currently looking at a pair of twin hair buns wrapped up slightly. He pulled back slightly, figuring he was to zoomed in, when he caught full sight of the person he was watching. He had to hold himself back from yelling out seeing it was Tenten, blushing profusely even though the steam was blocking her essentials. Naruto could still make out the form and sizes though, which is why he was blushing heavily.

' _How is she even hiding those things…'_ he thought to himself before turning his focus to someone else. There was a blond girl in there with her back towards him, most of her body submerged in the water so he couldn't see anything. She was talking to someone, Naruto looking up to see it was Sakura, still wrapped in her towel. After what seemed like coaxing from the other girl, Sakura dropped the towel and began to come into the stream, Naruto's nose bleed now in full affect.

' _What she lacks in the chest department she certainly makes up for in-oh my god!'_ He yelled in his mind as the blonde turned around. It was Ino, Naruto not being able to tell since he'd never saw her with her hair down. He couldn't see anything special because, much like Tenten, nature was blocking his view, this time in the form of water. Still, he could make out forms, and he must say that he was _very_ impressed.

' _This isn't good, this is wrong, these are my friends! I need to pull back now before-'_ "ARE THOSE FUCKING D-CUPS!" He yelled out loud as Hinata came from inside of the bath house. She was trying to cover them up, but the others were coaxing her to come inside, besides Sakura who was seemingly touching her own chest in disappointment. That was before the outburst however, as now all of the girls were looking up curiously at the noise.

"God damn it Naruto!" Kiba half yelled-half whispered as he smacked the boy on his head. "Now we've gotta' bail, let's go!"

Naruto could only numbly follow after Kiba as the two made a hastily escape from the area. Soon they were back on the street, Kiba panting heavily while Naruto was still in a state of shock, looking ahead blankly.

"Damn it, because of you I didn't even get to see anything!" Kiba yelled shaking his fist at Naruto. The blonde didn't even reply, simply passing the binoculars back over to Kiba silently. He stood there for a moment before turning to his friend and placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Kiba."

"Yeah, what?"

"You're a good friend."

"Uhhhh…" Kiba said not exactly knowing how to reply to that. "Thanks?"

"No problem. Now if you'll excuse, I'm going to pray that Anko isn't home right now so that I can have some alone time, I'll see you later my friend." Naruto said almost in a trance as he walked off towards his apartment. Kiba stared after him for awhile before looking back down at his binoculars.

"Screw this, I'm going back in…" He said noting the state Naruto was in. No way was he going to be left out on the action, consequences be damned!

* * *

Naruto was aroused from his slumber by a knocking at the door. Grumbling, he slid off of his bed and made his way through the apartment, yawning as he came up to the door. Opening it, he saw Ino standing there in a black dress, looking at him irritably.

"Took you long enough idiot, let me in." She said shoving her way passed him. Naruto started to shout in protest but it was to late as she was already inside of the apartment.

"Sure Ino-chan, come right in, I don't mind…" he mumbled closing the door and turning around to face her. It was then he remembered his earlier adventures at the hotsprings, specifically memories of her, and his face turned bright red.

"S-so what can I do for you Ino-chan?" He said moving into his room to throw on some pants, becoming painfully aware that he had answered the door in underwear. Luckily enough Ino hadn't noticed, or that could've gotten _really_ awkward.

"We were all going out to eat since we haven't meet up in awhile, I came to grab you." She said flippantly while dropping onto the couch. "So hurry up and get dressed will ya', I don't wanna be late."

"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked from inside of the bathroom. Ino yelled back that they were going to get him after, seeing as he wasn't aware of the plans as well and had to get ready. Naruto nodded and proceeded to continue with cleaning himself up. After changing into a pair of black sweatpants and a black muscle shirt, he came out back out into the living room.

"Jeez Naruto, were going out to dinner not a training ground." Ino said looking him over. She had to admit, she was right about black looking good on him.

"Sorry, these are really the only type of clothes I have." He replied rubbing the back of his head. Ino sighed before standing up from the couch, walking over to the front door with Naruto following after her.

"Looks like me and Sakura will have to take you out shopping again. Oh well, let's go grab Shikamaru meet up with the others."

"Aye sir!"

"Don't do that."

"Right, sorry…"

Ino rolled her eyes as the two walked down the stairs of the complex. They turned the corner and were about to continue to the Nara's compound when Ino bumped into exactly the person they were looking for. Naruto caught her before she could fall, Shikamaru rubbing his head and grumbling at the slight pain he was feeling.

"Watch where you're going would you, that forehead of yours almost killed me." Shikamaru said looking down at her boredly. Ino bristled under the comments and was about to retort when Naruto put his hand over her mouth.

"Well no need to argue now is there, come on guys let's go meet up with our good ole pals from the academy!" He said laughing. He pulled the still fidgeting Ino along and the trio continued to the usual barbecue place. Walking inside, Naruto looked around for signs of anyone else before spotting Sakura waving them over.

"Hey guys, we're over here this time!"

"You know, we really should find a new place to meet up at for these events. I volunteer Ichiraku's ram-"

"Shut up Naruto." Ino said bluntly walking over the others. Naruto visibly deflated, Shikamaru patting his back in support.

"Don't worry bud, there's someone out there who loves ramen as much as you do." He said, getting Naruto to look up at him hopefully.

"Really Shikamaru?"

"Nah, probably not."

With that the two walked over to the others as well, taking a seat on the edge of the long table. Sakura took notice of the tears streaming down Naruto's face animatedly, looking over at him in concern.

"What's the matter Naruto?" She asked worriedly as the boy looked down into his lap.

"Nothing Sakura-chan, nothing at all…" He said quietly, not convincing the girl of his words at all. Sniffling to himself, he looked up at everyone before double taking when he got a look at Kiba. "What the hell happened to you man?"

"We caught dog breath over here lurking around the hot springs earlier trying to catch a peek, little pervert." Ino said folding her arms over her chest. Naruto paled slightly at those words and glanced over at Kiba worriedly. A small head shake from the boy informed Naruto of all he needed to know and he released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

' _You really are a true friend Kiba…'_ Naruto thought to himself, looking at the bandage covered boy with a sense of admiration. The others obviously didn't feel the same however, getting looks of disgust from Ino and Sakura.

"Well you gotta' learn to let things go, amirite? So Sasuke, you boned any of those fangirls yet?" Kiba asked hurriedly trying to get the attention off of him. It worked, as Sasuke began to choke on the drink he was previously enjoying while Ino and Sakura turned towards him angrily.

"You did what?! How could you Sasuke-kun?!" Ino yelled as the boy looked up at her in shock.

"I didn't do anything! Wait, why am I explaining myself to you?" Sasuke said before taking notice of the tears in Sakura. "And why are you crying?!"

"Because Sasuke-kun," Sakura said sniffling to herself. "I was saving my first time for you, and I was hoping you would do the same…"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"LIE AGAIN DUCKHEAD!"

"Ino-buta! Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!"

The two broke into an argument with each other from across the table. Naruto watched on in a mixture of amusement and confusement, sipping absentmindedly on his drink through his straw.

"You know, today's been pretty damn weird all things considered." He said looking over at Shikamaru. The pineapple haired boy simply sighed and threw his hand up in the air to signal the waitress they were ready to order.

"After being around you for so long, I don't even know what's considered weird anymore." Shikamaru replied before looking over towards the front of the restaurant. "Hey look, Shino, Hinata and Choji finally arrived."

"Hello everyone, how are-oh my! N-Naruto-Kun, your nose is b-bleeding!"

* * *

 **(2 weeks later)**

After the two weeks had passed, it was finally time for all the aspiring Chunin to head out for Kumogakure. Naruto was currently making his way towards the gates, yawning heartily as he rubbed some crust out of his eyes.

"Who's bright idea was it for us to leave at five in the morning…" he murmured to no one in particular, making his way through the other Konoha teams present. He spared Team 8 and their, smoking hot he might add, sensei Kurenai a wave as he passed them before finally meeting up with his team.

"Morning guys." He mumbled walking up towards them. Shikamaru grunted in acknowledgment, while Ino spared him a small smile and wave.

"Morning Whiskers, seen Asuma-sensei around?" She asked looking around. Naruto nodded his head negative as he sat down on the bench next to them.

"I hope he didn't oversleep, bastard sure knows he good for doing that…" Naruto said remembering all the times they had to personally wake their sensei up with a home visit. Ino propped her head up with her hands, sighing as she looked out over the crowds.

"Sure is a lot of people here, I didn't even know Konoha had so many Genin. Some of these guys look like they're in their late twenties for crying out loud!" She said taking note of the rather adult like figures scattered throughout the crowd.

"Genin is actually the most populated ninja rank throughout the elemental nations. Many people end up staying that rank their whole careers." Shikamaru clarified, Naruto shuddering at the thought of being stuck as a Genin forever.

"That would suck, I couldn't imagine doing D-ranks for the rest of my life." Naruto replied. Shikamaru stretched slightly before leaning backwards on the bench to look up at the sky.

"Actually doesn't sound all that bad to me. It's the simple things in life that bring the most joy you know." He said closing his eyes. Naruto stared at him with squinted eyes before brushing his comments off and turning to face forward. It was then that he caught sight of Sasuke, standing in front of them and seemingly looking around for something.

"Oi, Sasuke! Over here!" He yelled getting the boy's attention. Sasuke turned in their direction curiously, face dropping when he saw that it was Naruto.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want now?" He said continuing to look around. Naruto walked up towards him, flashing a grin as he threw his arms behind his head.

"Jeez, that sticks even up your ass this early in the morning huh? By the way, why the hell are you wondering around the place looking like a creep?" Naruto asked, Sasuke's eye twitching as he tried his hardest to ignore the blondes teasing.

"I'm looking for Kakashi-sensei. I'll be damned if I miss out on my chance to become a Chunin because of his abysmal time management." Sasuke said looking around with renewed vigor. Naruto cocked his head to the side in a curious matter before stretching upwards.

"Kakashi-sensei? Isn't he over by the memorial stone?" Naruto said getting a quizzical look from Sasuke in return.

"The memorial stone? Why would he be over there?" Sasuke asked, Naruto shrugging in response.

"I don't know why he's over there, but I do know that he _is_ over there, so why don't you head on over." Naruto said turning to go back to his team. Sasuke watched after him for a moment before turning to head back to his team as well in order to check out if Kakashi was really there.

' _How would Naruto know where Kakashi-sensei is at without any prior knowledge? Is he just messing with me?'_ Sasuke thought to himself. He didn't put it past the blonde, I mean he was notorious for being an avid prankster. Still, if there was a chance Kakashi was over there, he was taking it.

Naruto meanwhile had made his way back over to his teammates and sat back down besides them, glaring curiously over at a bored Ino.

"Any particular reason you didn't fawn over the Uchiha there?" He asked after noticing her lack of response to seeing her crush.

"Eh, still mad at him." She replied nonchalantly, getting a sweat drop to form on Naruto's head.

' _I still don't understand a thing about girls…'_ He thought to himself before breaking out into another yawn. He was about to close his eyes when something was thrown on top of his face. He flailed about, clawing at whatever it was obscuring his vision before pulling it off and seeing that it was a white, cape like jacket. Looking up, he saw Asuma-sensei smiling down at him with two more held in his arm.

"Morning brats." He said handing the other two out to Shikamaru and Ino. "Ready to head out?"

"If I said no could we go back home and get some more sleep?" Shikamaru said looking up from the bench. Asuma gave him hearty laugh, patting the boy on the head as he looked on in irritation.

"I swear kid, you're a riot. Come on, looks like it's time to start moving out." Asuma said as he led his team to the gates. True to his word, teams were starting to file out of the village and onto the road. Team 10 were some of the front runners, along with Team 7 and Team 8. It was at this point that Naruto realized just how young they were compared to the rest of the shinobi who were coming along with them.

Asuma had slipped off over to Team 8 to conversate with Kurenai, the two of them slowly falling behind the rest. Naruto and the other rookies had bunched together, feeling a bit more comfortable moving as a large unit than in separate factions. The first two hours passed rather uneventfully, with most of the conversations being about what they expected when they arrived in Kumo and the Chunin exams. At some point, Naruto fell back from the others to walk besides Kakashi, who had somehow became the group's involuntary chaperone.

"So Kakashi-sensei, you've participated in the Chunin exams before, any tips on what I should be on the lookout for?" Naruto asked looking up at the man. Kakashi looked away from his book at the boy for a moment before closing it all together and stuffing his hands into his pocket.

"Well, when I took the Chunin exams the shinobi world as a whole was in an entirely different state. It was much easier to be promoted on skill or strength alone because there was a demand for strong ninja to be out in the battlefields." Kakashi started holding Naruto's full attention. "Over the recent years though, the criteria that they're looking for has almost completely changed."

"How so?" Naruto said throwing his arms behind his head in trademark fashion. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in thought, closing his one exposed eye in thought before answering the boy.

"Well, today there's a much larger focus on a team's dynamic and leadership. If an entire team performs well and proves they are able to work in a unit successfully, then that can boost the chances for a promotion for each member." He said, giving Naruto his trademark eye smile. "Most importantly, judges will be on the lookout for those who possess strong leadership qualities. This doesn't necessarily mean being the strongest in the group, but being able to bring the best out of your teammates as well as successful initiating plans."

"Hmm," Naruto murmured mulling over Kakashi's words. After a while, he gave the silver haired man a smile, looking forward as the two continue down the road. "I think I get what you're saying, thanks Kakashi-sensei! Hey, you're not as bad at this sensei thing as Kiba made you out to be."

Kakashi watched as Naruto walked forward again to meet back up with the rest of the rookies. Pulling back out his book, he flipped back to the page that he left off on and continued, humming slightly to himself.

' _He's definitely his mother's child, but I can see a lot of you in there as well sensei.'_ Kakashi thought to himself before once again being consumed by his famed book.

Eventually, after a day of non stop walking and traveling, the large group of shinobi managed to almost reach the border of the Land of Fire. The instructors decided that now would be a good time to settle down and rest, and that the rest of the journey would be continued tomorrow. After setting up camp, Naruto snuck off to a more reclusive area to star watch, along with Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Sasuke, and Shino. They chattered mindlessly about whatever topic caught their interest, simply enjoying each other's company for the most part.

"I'm just saying, the Fourth Hokage was pretty damn strong man. I mean, he damn near defeated an entire village by himself!" Naruto exclaimed throwing his hands up from his resting position. Sasuke nodded in agreement from his spot next to the blonde, adding a 'hn' for extra effort.

"Still though, you honestly think he could beat the Third Hokage in battle? That's blasphemous if you ask me, I mean he's literally known as the God of shinobi." Kiba said shaking his head. "He's gotta be pushing, what, a hundred years of age right now? And he's still out there holding us down, that means something man."

"Dude, the Fourth could literally teleport himself all around the battlefield. Teleport! Teleportation! How do you even fight that?" Naruto replied looking over at the boy. Kiba scrunched his face up in thought for a moment, before slowly shaking his head up and down.

"Actually, you might have a point there man, I'll give you this one." He said getting a grin from Naruto. "The First Hokage is still stronger than the Second though."

"And you're still batshit crazy." Naruto said getting a laugh from the rest of the group. Shikamaru stretched his entire body before reaching into Choji's bag of chips, munching on a few as Choji began to speak.

"So do you guys think the genin from other villages are going to be a problem?" He said eating a few of the chips himself. "I'm worried we might run into something really crazy out there."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked sitting up a little. Choji shrugged as he pulled out another bag of chips, grabbing a few before responding.

"Well, who knows what goes on in other villages. What if their rookies go through some crazy rigorous training that made them super strong or something." He said before turning his attention to the snacks in his hand. Naruto squinted at him in confusion before Shikamaru stepped in to help clarify.

"You know, kind of like how Asuma-sensei said that in order for Zabuza to graduate his genin class in kirigakure, he had to kill his other classmates." Shikamaru said, getting the rest of the group to look up at him in shock, minus Naruto.

"Oh yeah, I guess there is a possibility we could run into someone like that." Naruto said grabbing his chin in thought. Kiba was still looking up at Shikamaru in shock of what he had said previously.

"What the hell kind of shit were you guys dealing with on that mission? Killing your entire class just to graduate, who the hell did he team up with afterwards if everyone was dead?" Kiba asked, getting a shrug from the pineapple haired boy in return.

"All I know is, I'm rather glad I was born into Konoha. Seems like the less troublesome of all the villages if you ask me." Shikamaru said leaning back. His mind did linger on Choji's words a little longer though, as he himself thought over what exactly they could be walking into. Sighing, he stood up from his laying position and slowly made his way back over to the camp.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to try to get as much rest as possible before this whole thing kicks off. Who knows if we'll be able to sleep easily when all this gets up running." Shikamaru said disappearing into the tree line. The rest of the boys watched after him blankly, Naruto being the first to speak up.

"You guys tired?"

"Is a dog in heat tired?"

"...Staying up it is then!"

* * *

"Come on guys, it's not much farther! Keep up!"

"Coming Asuma-sensei!" Ino yelled back, turning back towards Naruto. "Come on whiskers, the others are waiting for us!"

"I don't think I can make it, we've been going non-stop the entire day! I'm sooooo tired…" he drawled pulling himself up off of his knees, with Ino's help. She let out a rather loud sigh as the two shuffled along down the road, grunting as Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulder to use her as support.

"Well nobody told you morons to stay up the entire night and goof off knowing that we had to leave early in the morning, now did they?" She said huffing in frustration. Naruto decided not to reply, feeling that he wasn't going to win this particular argument. Luckily he wasn't the only in this predicament, as both Choji, Kiba and surprisingly enough Sasuke stayed out in the clearing for the entire night. Kiba was faring the same as him pretty much, while Choji was simply sleepwalking with Sakura guiding him. Sasuke was mostly his usual self, if only slightly more grumpy than usual.

"How much further until we reach this damn village?" Naruto asked as the two came up next to Shikamaru. He slid off of Ino's shoulder and began to walk on his own as Shikamaru shrugged at his question. "After two days of non stop travel we've got to at least be close."

"We should arrive there by nightfall, barring anything unexpected happening." Asuma said falling back to walk alongside his group. "With that in mind, I've got a few things I want to go over with you guys about."

"Is it about the chunin exams?" Ino asked looking up curiously. Asuma shook his head to show she was wrong, holding his neck to the side to relieve some tension in it.

"No, well not directly at least." He said looking down at his team. "What I'm here to talk about is a little thing called diplomacy."

"What, you don't think we know how to act when outside of the village?" Ino asked defensively glaring up at her sensei. Asuma didn't verbally respond, only pointing over at Naruto who was trying to discreetly remove a wedgie he had acquired at some point. Ino's face fell at the sight as she turned to face forward and let Asuma continue.

"As I was saying, while you guys do have experience of leaving outside of the village, you haven't exactly ever left from an area that wasn't under Konoha's influence. You're going into another village, and while I'm not saying things are going to be hostile, they are going to be different, which means you need to be careful in what you do." He said getting a nod from his three students. Shikamaru was the next to speak up.

"So, what do we need to keep Naruto from doing?"

"Hey!"

"Just don't do anything that a person without common sense would do." Asuma said cutting off the blonde. "Stick together and if you ever run into any trouble, try to wait for me or another superior to handle it, got it?"

He received another round of nods from his students to confirm they were clear on his words. Sighing, he reached into his vest to grab a cigarette when he felt a chill run down his spine, almost as if someone was staring at him. Grumbling, he took his hand out of his vest and continued walking forward, getting an odd look from Naruto who watched the entire spectacle.

"The hells up with Asuma-sensei?" He asked cocking his head to the side slightly. Ino let out a giggle as she looked back at a certain red eyed sensei, who was looking at Asuma with a pleased look.

"I think I know what it is. I didn't know Asuma-sensei had it in him." Ino said giggling even more. Naruto squinted his eyes at the girl before turning towards Shikamaru, who noticed him staring at him and turned to face forward with his eyes closed.

"Just leave it Naruto, whatever it is has Ino excited which means it probably something troublesome." He said, Naruto silently agreeing as the group continued on walking. Eventually daylight turned into night, and Naruto was just about to give up hope of ever reaching the village when Asuma finally said they were getting close.

"Who's bright idea was it to build a village up inside of the mountains? I mean really, that's just lacking tact." Naruto grumbled as he continued his uphill walking. Asuma chuckled at his students disgruntled nature as they finally came upon the village's gates. Kakashi walked forward and spoke in a hushed voices with guards at the gate before waiving everyone over when they were finished.

"Alright guys, our hotel has already been setup so how about we head on over and get some rest?" Asuma said turning around to face his students.

"I'm all for getting some rest, but now that we're here, I'm really craving something to eat." Naruto said holding his growling stomach sheepishly.

"Well, we can get something delivered in the hotel. Come on, I want to get settled in as soon as possible." Asuma said leading his group inside of the village. Naruto took in his surroundings as they crossed the gate, noting how different Kumo was from Konoha. The streets were bustling with people, though Naruto figured a lot of that traffic was here for the chunin exams. All in all, it didn't seem much different from konoha, besides the lack of greenery and more gray feeling atmosphere.

The hotel they were staying at was pretty large and had easily been the nicest place Naruto had ever stayed in. He didn't hide it either, looking around at luxurious decorations with his mouth wide open and stars in his eyes, much to the amusement and embarrassment of his fellow companions. Asuma was staying on the floor above them along with the rest of the sensei's in this hotel, so he gave Ino keycard to their room and bid them a farewell.

"Remember, no funny business alright?" He said giving them one last stern look. Naruto waved him off as he walked into their hotel room.

"Relax Asuma-sensei, we aren't going to do anything, right guys?" He said turning to Shikamaru and Ino.

"I think he's less worried about us doing anything and more so about our regular troublemaker stirring something up." Ino said smiling as Naruto's face fell. Asuma chuckled at the sight and turned to head off to his own hotel room as the group closed the door to theirs.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Ino said looking around the hotel room. Shikamaru went over towards the couch and sat down, turning on the tv to test out the cable channels they had. Naruto meanwhile was in similar state to Ino, looking out from the balcony on too the streets.

"It's almost like a festival is going on out there." He said looking at all the booths and people wandering around the streets. "How about we go out to eat guys, get a look at the town?"

"Didn't Asuma-sensei tell us to stay inside of the hotel to avoid getting into any trouble?" Shikamaru said from the couch. In reality he wasn't really concerned with what their sensei had told them, rather he didn't want to get back on his feet after just getting off of them.

"Aw come on Shikamaru, I want to see what the villages like too." Ino said hugging him from behind. "Besides, Asuma-sensei also said that we should stay together, so if me and a Naruto go then you're forced to come along."

Shikamaru groaned as he stood up from the couch and followed the two over towards the door. They made their way out of the hotel and onto the main street, where they followed the crowd into the bustling city. They eventually settle on eating at a sushi shop that Ino pointed out was rather famous in the area for being good. After that, they simply wanders around the village, taking in the sights and game booths that littered the streets.

"It really is almost like a festival out here." Naruto said chewing on a stick of grilled octopus. Ino nodded in agreement as they were making their way back towards the hotel.

"I didn't even realize it was this late, it's almost 1 a.m." She said looking at a clock inside of a stall. Naruto was about to reply when his shoulder bumped into someone else's rather hard, sending both parties towards the ground.

"Ouch." Naruto said pulling himself up off the ground. The other person brought himself back up to his feet as well, and was now glaring over at the blonde.

"What the hell is your problem brat, you blind or something?" He said as Naruto glared back over at him.

"I could say the same to you, did you get some of that make up in your eyes while applying it this morning?" Naruto retorted, getting the boy to stumble over his words as he stared back ludicrously. The sound of slight giggling caught Naruto's attention, and that's when he noticed the teen was accompanied by another girl.

"He's got you there Kankuro, you did get a little in your eye this morning." She said as Kankuro turned towards her shaking his fist.

"Damn it Temari, he didn't need to know that!" He yelled causing the girl to laugh even harder. Grumbling, Kankuro turned back towards Naruto, taking note of the headband hanging around his neck. "Wait a minute, are you guys here for the chunin exams too?"

"Wait, you're participating?" Naruto asked looking at him curiously. "Where are you guys from."

"Check the headband kid, we're from Sunagakure." Temari replied flicking hers. Naruto stared at her for a few seconds, getting her to blush slightly as she took notice of his looks. "W-what is it?"

"You're pretty cute you know that?" He said bluntly, getting Temari's blush to deepen. Ino and Kankuro both fell over while Shikamaru grabbed the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath.

"U-um, thanks?" She replied looking away and grabbing at a strand of her hair. Naruto smiled at her and put his hands behind his head, seemingly oblivious to the situation he had created.

"No need to thank me, I'm only telling the truth." He said with a shrug, Temari looking back up at the boy in surprise. Kankuro had managed to recover himself and was now looking at Naruto with something similar to astonishment in his eyes.

"This kid might be the smoothest person I've ever met in my life, he even got Temari to blush." He mumbled to himself as he watched his sister stumble over a reply. Shikamaru watched the scene with disinterest, until he noticed Ino balling her fist up at her sides and glaring at Naruto slightly.

' _Troublesome…'_ he thought to himself as he let out another sigh. Before things could continue however, another person had walked up to the group, standing walking out from behind Temari and turning to stare at Naruto.

"G-Gaara! Where did you come from?" Temari said jumping back slightly as the boy continued to stare at Naruto. Naruto matched it with one of his own, the two silently looking at each other for what seemed like ages to everyone else. Eventually, Gaara's eyes turned towards Temari and Kankuro, both of which stiffened a little at his stare.

"Temari, Kankuro, we're leaving." He said walking off from the group. He passed Naruto and the others as he continued to go down the street, stopping a few steps away before turning back towards the blonde boy. "What is your name?"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto replied seriously, getting Ino and Shikamaru to look at him curiously as his tone had changed drastically from what it was before. Gaara showed no indication that he had heard him, only turning around and continuing to walk down the street, Temari and Kankuro following after sparring team 10 a worried glance. Naruto watched them leave, eyes focused only on Gaara's retreating form until they were out of sight. He turned back towards Ino and Shikamaru, grin present on his face as he addressed them.

"Well, let's head back to the hotel room yeah?"

He said turning to lead the way down the street. Ino blinked at the seemingly 180 in terms of attitude, and ran to catch up to the boy who continued walking forward with a blissful smile on his face.

"So Naruto, what exactly was that? It looked like you and that Gaara kid were about to fight right in the middle of the street for a moment. Do you know him or something?" Ino asked, Naruto humming in reply.

"Nah, never seen the guy a day in my life. And for that little stare down, well, I'm never one to back down from a challenge." Naruto said as if the answer was obvious. Ino frowned at his response and was about to push further when the boy let out a loud yawn and covered his mouth. "Man, I am beat. I can't wait to get in the hotel room and get some rest."

"Amen to that." Shikamaru said walking with his hands in his pockets. If he had any curiosities about what just took place in that street, he certainly wasn't showing it as far as Ino was concerned. Frowning further, she decided to keep her mouth shut and followed the boy back to the hotel silently.

They went straight up into their hotel room and changed into their night wear, preparing to settle down for the night and get ready for what came tomorrow. They were met with their second dilemma of the night after discovering that they only had two beds to use. It was solved rather quickly however as Naruto volunteered to sleep on the couch, stating that he liked to watch tv before he fell asleep anyways. With that settled, everyone went to drift off to sleep, preparing themselves for the start of the chunin exams the next day.

Ino however awoken a few hours into her slumber, needing to use the bathroom. Opening the door to her room, she walked out into the living room area where Naruto was sleeping to head to rest room. She stopped however when she heard shuffling coming from the couch.

"No…"

Stopping in her tracks, she squinted her eyes as she thought she had heard Naruto's voice in the darkness. She was about to continue walking when once again a voice pierced through the dark room.

"No…"

Stopping again, Ino turned back towards the couch where Naruto was sleeping. She walked over towards him slowly, the moonlight flowing through the window being her only source of light. Walking closer, she could that he was shifting about rather wildly, as if he was having a nightmare. She could see his face scrunched up as if he was in pain, and reached out to touch when he smacked her hand away.

"No!"

He was now thrashing about radically, throwing a his limbs about as if he was fighting against something. Ino was startled at first, before reaching down to try and calm the boy down.

"Naruto! Naruto relax, it's me, Ino!" She said trying to grab his arms. He fought against her though, constantly yelling out no as he fought her off of him. Eventually she managed to wrap him in a hug to try and stop him from moving, which worked as he slowly began to calm down. Resting his head against her chest, he had stopped all movement and it was then that she noticed that he had been crying.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" he mumbled into her chest, clearly still asleep. Ino had no idea what to do, sitting quietly on the couch and rubbing his head as he continued to mumble those words. Eventually he stopped taking all together, and Ino managed to slide from underneath him and rest him back on the couch. She stared down at his sleeping form, a frown still etched on his face from whatever caused his nights frights. A single tear rolled out from the corner of his eye, Ino watching as it rolled down over his whiskers.

"Naruto…" she whispered to herself, staring at him a little longer before retreating back to her own room, leaving the door cracked so she could listen out for her blonde teammate. Whatever it was that was bothering him, she hoped it would leave him alone for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **This was a pretty fun chapter to write, since it's kind of a bridge between two storylines and I could have a little fun with this one. I guess you could say this is like a filler episode with some key story introductions for next arc. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and drop a review! I need them reviews damn it!**


	11. Something About Those Blondes

**Chapter 11: Something About those Blondes**

* * *

Naruto awoken from his slumber rather early in the morning for a combination of reasons. Mainly though, it was his excitement for the start of the chunin exams that caused him to jump up from the couch and get ready for the day. He cleaned himself up and even ordered room service for his entire team so they could have breakfast before heading out. Surprisingly enough, Shikamaru was the second person to wake up, walking into the living room while trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning Shikamaru, I'm surprised you're up before Ino." Naruto said looking up at him from the couch. Shikamaru waved him off as he took a seat next to the boy, yawning deeply into his hand.

"Of course the walking battery has no problem getting up early in the morning. I'm surprised you ever sleep at all." Shikamaru said turning on the tv. They still had three hours before they had to report for the chunin exams, and Shikamaru planned to rest for as long as he could. A knock at the door caught their attention, Naruto grinning as he got up to go answer it. Opening it up, he said a quick thank you before wheeling in a cart filled with food. Bringing it over to the table they were sitting at, he began to set the food out with Shikamaru watching with mild interest.

"You know Asuma-sensei has to pay for all that right?" Shikamaru said while grabbing a plate of food for himself. Naruto grinned up at him slyly, grabbing a plate as well.

"He does? Why I had no idea!"

"Hmph, asshole."

The two shared a laugh with each other as they began to eat, Ino walking out of her bed room just as the two were starting to settle down.

"What's so funny?" She asked taking a seat on the couch next to them. She briefly looked over all the food set up on the table, staring at Naruto and Shikamaru for a moment before shrugging and deciding to take some for herself as well.

"Nothing much, inside joke." Naruto said stuffing a roll into his mouth. "Smleeph mhood?"

"Not really, had a little late night interruption." She said glancing over at him. "What about you?"

"Eh, I've had better." Naruto said with a shrug. Ino snorted as she played around with the food on her plate.

"I bet." She said recalling the mini panic attack he seemed to be having the night before. She wanted to bring it up, but felt that for some reason it would be better if she kept what she saw last night to herself, at least for the moment. They continued to eat their breakfast with the conversation topics going all over the place before Shikamaru and Ino got up to get ready for the day themselves. They left the apartment with around an hour to go before the chunin exams started, deciding to get there a little early.

"Wow, the streets are still bustling even this early in the morning. I didn't think the chunin exams were such a big deal." Ino said noting how many people were ready out on the streets.

"Well this is supposed to be one of the biggest chunin exams in recent memory, so it's only right that it has a big turnout. From scouting future talent, deciding which villages are the most powerful for jobs and the gambling involved with it, the amount of people doesn't surprise me." Shikamaru said. Eventually they came to the stadium complex that the exams would be taking place at, walking inside the building after being cleared by the door guards. Going into the main room, Ino failed to hold back a gasp after seeing just how many people were present in the room.

"So much for showing up early…" Shikamaru mumbled as he too looked around the room in slight astonishment. "Troublesome…"

"Hey guys, over here!"

Ino and Shikamaru both winced at the sheer volume of Naruto's voice as he was waving over at Team 7. They looked up to see if anyone had taken notice of them, and lo and behold almost the entire room was now staring at the group. The two shrunk down slightly into themselves as the glares being sent their way started to get to them.

"Naruto you idiot, be quiet! You're drawing attention!" Ino half yelled and half whispered as Naruto stared at her curiously.

"Who cares about any of that?" Naruto said before turning back towards Team 7 who had walked up next to them. "Hey guys, ready for the tournament?"

"Naruto, don't you think you're drawing a little too much attention to yourself?" Sakura said as she looked around the room. Just as she feared, there were now people looking at her team suspiciously as well.

"You sound just like Ino Sakura-chan, what's the big deal with them knowing who we are? I'm pretty sure they all know about the group of rookies participating in this thing anyways, and Sasuke doesn't seem that bothered by it. Isn't that right Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"See?" Naruto said pointing over at him. "Nothing."

"I don't know if it's confidence or idiocy that drives you sometimes." Kiba said shaking his head at the boy. Just then, Team 8 walked through the front doors as well, sharing the similar looks of shock the other team's had after seeing the number of people present.

"O-oh my," Hinata said looking around the room, before turning to Shino. "Do you think all of these people are here for the chunin exams?"

"Yes, and I'd reckon that this isn't even the full amount still." The big user replied, getting the already pale girl to turn even paler. Naruto walked up besides her and threw his arm around her shoulder, getting a small 'eep' from her as she began to blush profusely.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, everything's going to be fine! These guys don't have anything on us!" Naruto said trying to boost the girls confidence. It seemed to work as she spared the blonde a timid smile, Naruto returning it with a full blown grin.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, especially in her case."

Just then, another group of people walked up to join the Konoha reunion. Naruto had no idea who two of them were, but he instantly pointed out his bun haired friend.

"Tenten-chan!" Naruto yelled running over to hug her before catching a fist to the face from said girl.

"I told you to stop calling me that! Tenten is just fine." She said folding her arms over her chest. Naruto groaned slightly as he rose up off of the floor, grabbing at his head before a green blur appeared in front of him, extending a hand to help him up.

"Yosh! It is a pleasure of mine to meet any friend of my teammate! My name is Rock Lee, what is yours friend?" He said, Naruto taking his hand hesitantly.

"Um, it's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He said returning the grin as Lee helped him up to his feet. "Those are uh…those are some pretty crazy eyebrows you've got there Lee-san."

"Yosh, these eyebrows are meant to show off my passion for youth, beaten only by those held by the great Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed getting Tenten to facepalm in embarrassment. Might Gai was a person Naruto had definitely heard of before, both from Anko and Asuma.

"I see, so you guys must be Might Guy's team then right?" He said looking over at the remaining member. "I don't think I got your name yet."

"Neji Hyuga, thought I doubt you'll need to know it long seeing as you won't be going far in this tournament." He said, Naruto glaring at his words. He was about to retort when he remembered his name, or the later half of it specifically.

"Hyuga? So are you and Hinata related then?" He said noting that they had the last name. He could also see that Neji had the same milky white eyes that Hinata had, along with the similar pale skin. Neji however chose not to answer, instead scoffing at the question and walking off. Tenten frowned at his attitude before turning to address Naruto.

"Don't mind him Naruto, he tends to get like that sometimes. Especially when Hinata is involved." She said placing a hand on his shoulder. Naruto allowed his gaze to linger on Neji for a little longer before turning back to his group of friends.

"Well whatever, he'll get that stick out of his ass one of these days." He said getting a collective laugh from everyone. On the other side of the room, another group of young shinobi were staring at them with mild interest.

"Well look at that, looks like we're not the only rookies participating in this exam." A dark skinned boy with blonde hair said. "Talk about drawing attention to yourselves though, I'm glad you decided to be on your best behavior today Karui."

"Shut your mouth Omoi before I shut it for you." Karui replied. "Those idiots probably don't even know what they're getting into, I doubt any of them will make it pass the first round, right Samui?"

The final member of the group, Samui, opted to stay silent at that question. She instead focused her gaze on Naruto, who was currently rubbing the back of his head while displaying his trademark grin. A pair of fingers snapping in front of her face brought her out of her trance as she turned to look over at Karui.

"Hello, earth to Samui, anyone home?" She said leaning over to look up in the blondes face. "You didn't hear a word I just said did you?"

"I wouldn't judge a book by its cover, remember what sensei taught us." Samui replied coolly. Karui pouted slightly at her words while Omoi twirled the sucker in his mouth.

"That's right Karui, who knows, what if one of those guys turn out to have some secret power that no one knows about. Their village leader could have sent them here in disguise of participating in the tournament, but in reality they're here to kill us a-"

"Oh shut the hell up already Omoi!" Karui yelled fed up with the boy's constant rambling. She instantly regretted this choice however as she noticed that her little outburst had caught the attention of everyone else in the building.

"Now that's the Karui I know." Omoi said smiling up at the girl. She gritted her teeth as she tried to fight down the blush coming upon her face, balling her fist up at her sides.

"Omoi…"

Naruto meanwhile was watching the group with some interest of his own before turning back to his own comrades. He was about to continue the conversation when suddenly the doors to the side of the complex began to open. A tall, dark skinned man with blonde hair walked through, looking around the room before clearing his throat.

"Alright, listen up everybody! Were about to start the first test of the chunin exams, so if you would please follow me!" He said turning to head back through the doors. The large crowd followed after him, walking into a large lecture hall with a giant screen facing the rows. They were instructed to sit in the declining rows with their team and wait for further instructions, which came after everyone was situated. Clearing his throat, Darui pointed up to the projector screen as it started to light up.

"Welcome to the first stage of the chunin exams, I'll be your proctor for this section. The name is Darui." He said pausing for added effect. "The purpose of this first stage will be simple; it's to test your skill to work together as a team to complete an emergency objective. You will all be pitted up against an opposing squad and the one who is able to complete the mission will move on to the second half of the exams. Of course, neither team completing the objective and both squads failing is also an option."

"Well that's not nice." Naruto mumbled quietly, getting a giggle from Ino.

"Effectively, this test should cut the number of participants in half, but I guarantee it will end being more than that. Now, each team needs to send a representative down to grab a number so we can determine who you will be going against." Darui said as a box was placed on a table next to him. Naruto got up and began to make his way down the stairs to chose for his team when he bumped into someone on the way. Looking up, he saw it was none other than Temari, who was looking over at the boy in surprise.

"Well well, if it isn't Temari-chan, how's it going?" He asked as the two continued down the stairs. Temari gave him a smile as the two reached the line leading up to the box.

"I was wondering when I would see you in the tournament. You and your friends sure know how to draw attention to yourselves, but I'm guessing you're not worried at all are you?" She said moving to stand in front him.

"Nothing fazes Naruto Uzumaki, not even death itself." He replied as the two finally reached the table.

"Is that so?" Temari said reaching inside the box and grabbing a number. Stepping aside, she glanced down at it quickly before turning back around to face Naruto. "I've got number 75, what about you?"

"10, go figure, looks like I'll be one of the first ones up." Naruto said still not showing any worry at all. "At least we won't be going against each other in the first round, I'll see you around Temari-chan!"

Temari watched him march back up to the stairs towards his team before turning towards her own. She could see that Gaara's eyes were following the boy, and knew that look inside of them all too well.

"Yeah, that's a good thing…" she whispered to herself before heading back to her siblings.

* * *

After everyone had selected their numbers, Darui made his way back to the front of the room to announce the first matches.

"Alright, every team that has a number going from 1 to 20 is to report in the next room over immediately!" He yelled pointing towards the door.

"Welp, that's us." Naruto said standing up. Ino and Shikamaru followed after him as they made their way down the stairs, coming towards the door when they ran into familiar faces.

"Yo, what numbers do you guys have? Hope we don't have to fight each other in the first round, it would be a shame for you guys to have to head home without even passing one exam." Kiba said with Sasuke and Sakura coming up behind him.

"Can it dog breath, we're going to do just fine. And who's to say the first match is going to involve fighting anyways?" Naruto retorted before turning towards Sasuke. "Just make sure you make it to the finals, we all know that it's almost certain they'll be doing sparring matches for the final event. Me and you have a little score to settle."

"More like you have a score to settle, I already know who's the better out of us." Sasuke said smirking over at him. "If you need a little reminder though, I'll be glad to hand it to you."

"Alright you two, lets save it for when that time comes. Come on Naruto, I want to see what our mission is going to be." Ino said grabbing the boy by the ear dragging him along, despite his protests. They walked into the room, where Darui was standing in the middle of it with a clip board along with other instructors.

"Listen up, you'll be pairing up in groups of twos from 1 all the way up to 20, and that's how the matches will be set. Team 1 will go against Team 2, Team 3 against Team 4. You catch my drift, no?" He said looking around for any complaints. Seeing none, he nodded his head and continued on. "Look for the the instructor holding your number, and they will lead you to where you will start your particular exercise. You can do anything you deem necessary to complete the mission, but do _not_ harm any civilians or outside people during the course of this exam. With that said, knock yourselves out, further instructions will be giving by your instructor."

After Darui's monologue, Naruto and crew made their way over to the instructor holding the sign for 10. They made their way out of the building and into the village, eventually heading outside of the gates a little ways before finally coming to a stop.

"Alright, this is the place where your exam will start. The other squad will be starting on the opposite side of this gate. Here's the scroll detailing the workings of your missions. Read through it and proceed in anyways you deem necessary." The instructor said handing over the scroll. "Good luck."

With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, getting Naruto's jaw to drop at the lack of information giving.

"T-that's it?! He didn't even tell us anything worthwhile!" Naruto yelled as Shikamaru opened up the scroll.

"Well it's supposed to be an exercise testing our abilities to work in emergency situations right? I guess he really couldn't give us too much information or it wouldn't be authentic." Ino said turning towards Shikamaru. "What's the scroll say Shika?"

Shikamaru didn't say anything back for a few moments as he continued to read over the components of the mission, closing the scroll and grabbing the bridge of his nose once he finished.

"It's a kidnapping scenario." He said with a sigh. "We're going to have to track them down and return the hostage safely. And we have to do so before they leave a designated area."

"Well shit." Naruto said looking back at him blankly. "How the hell do we do that, did they give us anything else?"

"Just a picture of what the woman looks like." Shikamaru said handing over the photo. Naruto and Ino both hunched close together to get a look at it before handing it back over.

"So what are we gonna' do? We don't even have any idea where to look for this lady at. Hey, what if she's closer to where the other team started at!" Naruto said smacking his fist into his palm. Shikamaru played with that idea in his head before quickly dismissing it.

"I doubt they'd give them an unfair advantage like that. I'm pretty sure we're both stationed so that we have an equal chance of getting towards them, at least at the start." Shikamaru said grabbing at his hair in thought.

"So, how we should go about finding them?" Ino asked as Shikamaru closed his eyes. He stood still for a moment, clearly lost in thought, before lazily reopening his eyes again and turning towards the gate.

"We're at the North gate right? That would mean the other team is stationed over at the South Gate if we go off what the instructor told us." He said getting a quizzical look from Naruto.

"Ok, and? I figured that out awhile ago Shika." Naruto said deadpanning at the boy.

"Really? That's great for you Naruto, it really is." He replied, getting the finger from the blonde. "What that means is that, theoretically speaking, if they wanted to make this even then there's only two ways the kidnappers could have gone."

"From the Eastern or Western gates, so east or west!" Ino said catching onto what Shikamaru was getting at. He nodded his head as she finished his thoughts, Naruto now understanding what he was getting at as well.

"Ok, that narrows our options down two." He said before poking his head up with a blank look on his face. "Looks like our competition probably figured this out as well."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked as Naruto turned towards the East.

"They're on the move to the east, I can sense them." Naruto said, Shikamaru narrowing his eyes at that.

"What do you mean you can sense them, how can you do that?" He said curiously. Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he turned back towards the boy.

"I don't know, it's just that one of them has some real negative vibes rolling off of him. It's hard to explain, but I can sense that more than I can sense them per say." He said before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "That's not important though, shouldn't we head after them?"

"We don't even know if they're heading in the right direction, what if they took her out the Western gate?" Ino said.

"Look, if they took her out of the Eastern gate and those guys get her first while we're in the west, then we're screwed. If we meet them out east and it turns out she's not there, then that just means we'll have to race over to the western side before they get out of dodge." Naruto said justifying his thought process. Ino scrunched her face up in thought as she mulled over his words before snapping her fingers as if an idea had came to her.

"Wait, check it out guys, how about we have Naruto make a couple of clones and have them go out west! That way we can cover both sides just in case they didn't go out the Eastern gate!" She said, Naruto's eyes lighting up in understanding.

"Say no more, I'm on it!" Naruto yelled making the sign for his shadow clones. Three of them popped into existence, saluting their creator before heading out on their mission. "Alright, let's go cut off these bastards and pass the first part of these exams!"

With Naruto taking charge, they bounded off towards the direction of the enemy squad. It was around 30 minutes into their travels that Naruto held up a hand for them to stop, signaling that they were close to the enemy.

"Your shadow clones haven't found them out on the western end yet have they?" Ino asked as they dropped towards the ground.

"I wouldn't know, it's not like we're telepathic with each other you know. One of em would have to come back and tell us if they did." Naruto replied as they crept forward into the clearing the other team was at. Peering through the trees, Naruto could see the opposing team hurled together over a map, yelling at each other in loud tones.

"Look, we're already at the border of the boundaries for this exam, they obviously didn't come this way! We need to turn back around now, stop wasting time!" One of the boys yelled pointing at the map. Naruto could just barely make out his headband from where he was standing.

"They're from Iwagakure, I think." He whispered back towards his team. Ino and Shikamaru both nodded at that information, continuing to listen to their conversation.

"He's right Bon, we've basically scouted this whole area and still haven't picked up even a trace. I think we should try to head out west and hope the other's haven't found them already." Another, smaller looking boy in group said. Naruto theorized that he had to be younger than all of them, seeing as the other two members seemed noticeably older and bigger than him. Bon, the tallest, baldest and biggest of the group who Naruto assumed was the pseudo leader, growled as he stood up and balled his fist.

"Damn it, I'm not failing this test for a fourth time, we're going to get this done!" He yelled turning towards the smaller boy angrily. "Hachi, use your Jutsu again to check this area one last time!"

The sandy haired boy complied, quickly placing his hand down on to the ground and closing his eyes. Naruto watched him curiously until he felt a tingling feeling shot through his body. Hachi looked up suddenly, turning directly towards where Team 10 was.

"T-there's someone over there!" Hachi yelled pointing towards them directly. Shikamaru swore to himself as they all tensed up at being called out.

"He must have some type of detection jutsu, damn it." Shikamaru said before standing up. "Well no use in standing here, let's go greet our new friends."

Naruto walked out into the clearing, keeping an even stare with Bon who seemed particularly interested in him. Ino and Shikamaru stood behind him, ready to engage in battle at any giving moment.

"Well well, looks like we weren't the only one's to consider coming east." Bon said still staring at Naruto. "Look Kaoru, you're not the only dumb one out here."

Kaoru, tall with a slim build and short black hair, didn't say anything to that remark, though his fist did flex tighter at the words. Bon was silent for awhile before speaking up again, this time addressing Naruto.

"You, what's your name?" He said not talking his eyes off the boy. Naruto returned the state with full force, contemplating over whether or not he would answer.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage." He said raising his head slightly. Bon's scowled deepened as he finished, cracking his neck on both sides in hopes of intimidating the group.

"You know, i'm not all that fond of your face kid. Reminds me of someone I _really_ hate." Bon said ever so slightly shifting his position. "I think I'm going to take some of my frustration out on you if you don't mind."

"What if I do mind?" Naruto asked sarcastically with a small smirk. Bon didn't answer, instead choosing to charge at the boy head on, getting Shikamaru and Ino to get out of the way while Naruto stood his ground. Bon gave a beastly yell as he threw his fist forward, Naruto waiting until right before it was near his face to duck underneath it. Grabbing Bon's arm, he used his momentum to throw him straight down into the ground, jumping away as he made impact.

"Bon! Damn it…" Kaoru said before turning towards Naruto as well. "You're gonna' pay for that!"

Running through hand signs, Kaoru dropped down towards the ground and stuck both of his hands into it. Instantly, the ground underneath Naruto began to soften and collapse into itself, with him struggling to maintain his balance. He managed to jump away at the last minute and made a dash for Kaoru, who pulled out a kunai to defend himself. Naruto however didn't attack him head on, instead flipping over and landing behind him. Quickly launching himself backwards, he threw a elbow into Kaoru's back, sending him flying towards the treeline. Turning towards the remaining threat, he smiled as Hachi tried to back away from him.

"Two down, one to go." Naruto said cracking his knuckles. Before he could reach him however, an arm shot out from the ground and grabbed his ankle. Bon shot out from under the ground, hoisting him into the air before slamming him back down on ground.

"That little trick you pulled back there hurt, so I'll be sure to repay you back tenfold!" He said lifting a moaning Naruto back up by his ankle and slamming him down again. He yelled out in pain as Bon prepared to lift him again, only to find that his movement had been restricted. "W-what the hell? Why can't I move?!"

"Hey, brick face!"

Bon tried to turn his head towards the sound of the voice, but found that he still couldn't move as Ino delivered a roundhouse kick into his face. He instantly dropped Naruto, opting now to instead clutch at his leaking nose. Naruto reacted quickly, landing on the ground and sweeping his legs to knock Bon's out from under neath him. He then jumped back away from him and over towards Ino.

"That's gonna' hurt in the morning. Oh, and thanks for that Ino-chan, got a little carried away there." He said laughing sheepishly. Ino rolled her eyes before turning around at the sound of Kaoru getting back up.

"We need to finish these guys off quickly, we don't have time to be playing around here when we still have to complete the mission." She said seriously, getting a nod from Naruto. "Shikamaru has a plan, but I don't know if…"

"You don't know if what?" Naruto said noticing she had trailed off at the end. Ino seemed to be contemplating her words in her head before looking back up at Naruto.

"Well, we're going to need you to use the Wind Gale Thrust." She said, flinching slightly as Naruto quickly turned his head to stare at her. "Listen Naruto, I get it, but if me and Shikamaru can get two of them to line up then it would be an easy way to take them out! We have to wrap this up as fast as we can!"

Naruto looked away from her, eyes slightly glazed over as if he had lost consciousness for a moment. It didn't last long though as he noticed that Bon had recovered from their little sneak attack, and Kaoru was raring up to go again. Sighing, Naruto didn't say anything, instead giving a small nod to show that he was on board. Ino let out the breath she was holding in as she tried to explain the details quickly. She didn't get chance though as Bon began to rush them again, causing the two to have to split up.

Naruto tried to roll away but couldn't do so fast enough as Bon caught up with him, sending a series of punches his way as Naruto tried his best to stay out of range. He caught a slight slip in Bon's attack sequence and used it to his advantage, ducking underneath a punch and getting inside close to deal a powerful one of his own directly into the man's stomach. He didn't stop there, dropping to the ground and using both of his feet to kick him up into the air.

Shikamaru meanwhile was hiding inside the treeline, watching Ino's fight against Kaoru. He was waiting for an opening to use his shadow to slow him down, but found that the two keep moving around to much for him to get a proper attack.

"Come on Ino, give me something here…" he mumbled to himself, a drop of sweat trickling down the side of his head. His opportunity came when the two clashed in the middle of the air, and were currently falling back down towards the ground. Figuring it was now or never, he sent out his shadow to the area where he approximated Kaoru would land, hoping that for once luck would be on his side.

' _Come on, come on...got him!'_ He thought as Kaoru landed directly on his shadow, his body turning rigid as Shikamaru took control. "Ino, do it now!"

"Roger that!" Ino yelled forming her hands into a diamond for her clan's signature technique. Kaoru squirmed under Shikamaru's control, looking over at Ino in a mixture of fear and confusing.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" He yelled still struggling. Ino said nothing, instead focusing her concentration on the technique.

"Let's get this over with…" she mumbled to herself, holding her hands out in front of her. " **Mind Transfer Jutsu!** "

Kaoru's struggling stopped instantly, just as Ino's body went limp and fell down towards the ground. Shikamaru released his shadow jutsu and ran over to protect her now vulnerable form.

' _I hate going into a boy's body, doesn't feel right at all. Anyways, time to grab big guy over there…'_ Ino thought looking over at Bon, who was still trading blows with Naruto. She jumped over to where they were, landing next to Bon who looked over at her questionly.

"You looked like you could use some help with this brat, let's put him down once and for all." Ino said looking over at Naruto. Bon smirked as he cracked his knuckles, walking forward confidently.

"Alright, but I get first dibs." He said stepping in front of Ino. Before he could go too far however, Ino grappled him from behind, locking her hands behind his neck to hold him in place. "Kaoru, what the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"Naruto, do it now!" Ino yelled struggling to hold Bon down even in Kaoru's stronger body.

"Say no more." Naruto said seriously, already flowing through the set of hand seals. Hand dropping to his side, the telltale signs of the technique took form as the wisp's of wind began to swirl around the arm, eventually turning into a mini tornado. Looking up, Naruto stared directly into Bon's eyes before breaking out into a sprint.

' _Ok Ino, you've got to time this perfectly or you're absolutely screwed.'_ She thought preparing to hop out of Kaoru's body as soon as Naruto struck. Jumping into the air, Naruto cocked his fist back, Bon struggling frantically to get out of hold the closer Naruto got.

" **Wind Style: Wind Gale Thrust!"** He yelled throwing his fist forward. The attack went directly into Bon's torso, distorting it as it tore through him and Kaoru, who was now back to his original self. The two were thrown back instantly, both falling towards the ground with blood flowing from their open wounds. Naruto landed in the spot they once took up, watching the scene in a mixture of awe and disgust. Even Shikamaru looked a little shaken up, not expecting the attack to be so gruesome.

For a while, the entire clearing was completely silent besides the natural sounds of nature. This was broken up by the stirring of Ino, who opened her eyes to see Shikamaru staring down at her blankly. Blinking, she looked over to where Naruto was standing, noting how the boy was simply staring at his hand with an emotionless expression. She could see the other two lying on the ground, the grass around them clearly stained with blood.

"Wow, that got a lot messier than I thought it would." Ino said, Shikamaru nodding in agreement. Naruto meanwhile was still looking down at his hand in thought, until the sound of something shuffling in the grass turned his attention towards the neighboring forest. It was there that he saw Hachi, back against a tree trunk and looking up at him in absolute horror.

"H-how could y-you, l-look what you've d-done!" He yelled pushing himself further against the tree. Naruto frowned and turned to walk towards him but stopped when the boy began to shriek and ball into himself. "N-no! Stay away from me you monster!"

Naruto froze at those words, staring at the quivering boy blankly as he started to cry into his legs. Shikamaru and Ino, who had been watching the interaction from afar, had came to stand next to Naruto, all three watching their former enemy seemingly fall apart in front of them. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck before turning towards his other to teammates, only Ino acknowledging his stare.

"I doubt this kid's in any position to fight now, hell I doubt he was ever in a position to fight in the first place. We should start heading west so we can save the prisoner." Shikamaru said, Ino nodding in agreement. Naruto stared at Hachi for a little longer before turning to walk away.

"Follow me, I know where to go." He said quietly before jumping into the tree line. Ino and Shikamaru shared a glance before jumping after him, leaving the rather depressing sight behind them. Naruto meanwhile was trail blazing through the forestry, with Ino and Shikamaru struggling to keep up.

"Naruto, think you could slow down a little?!" Ino yelled out. Naruto continued to run full speed, getting Ino to grit her teeth as she thought the blonde was ignoring her. "Naruto I know you-"

"We need to hurry, they're almost out of the safe zone." He replied not breaking stride at all. Shikamaru stared at his back as he continued to run after the blonde, raising an eyebrow at his response.

"How do you know that, can you sense them?" Shikamaru asked grunting. He was starting to feel a little winded. Naruto clenched his jaw and held in a frustrated sigh at all the questions being thrown his way.

"Look, I just know alright? Now could you guys just shut up and follow me?" Naruto said, his irritation showing clearly in his voice even though he tried to hide it. Ino was taken aback by the outburst, as it was one of the few times she had seen Naruto genuinely angry. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, but continued to run in silence nonetheless with Naruto leading the way, taking them around the now mountain based terrain. After about 10 minutes, Naruto came to a stop around a clearing with a lake running through it. Crouched behind a rock nearby was two of his clones, both looking back up at him.

"They're just up ahead boss!" One of them yelled pointing into the clearing. Naruto nodded in response, and the two puffed out existence. Crouching down where the clones once were, Naruto peered over the rock to see three men escorting a woman with a bag over her head. Shikamaru and Ino came to sit next to Naruto, peering over the rock as well.

"Should we ambush them?" Ino whispered while Shikamaru continued to look on in thought.

"Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it fast. They're almost outside of the boundary." Naruto said impatiently, preparing to hop out. Shikamaru grabbed his shoulder before he could do so however, pulling him back down to a seating position.

"Relax, no need to be hasty. Take a closer look, those guys aren't dressed like shinobi, they look more like your common bandit." Shikamaru said noting that they didn't even have equipment on. "We can take all three out in one swoop if we play it right."

"I know, we can use the plan Asuma taught us about! You know, plan 'loudmouth'." She said getting a grunt from Naruto at the name.

"Yeah, that'll work. Well Naruto, you know what to do." Shikamaru said smiling over at the blonde. Grumbling, Naruto made a shadow clone that didn't even require directions instead jumping off into the clearing. Shikamaru gave a nod to Ino, who pulled out a set of shurikens and threw them towards the group of bandits, missing on purpose.

"What the hell?" One of them said looking around the area. "Did one of them finally find us?"

"Hey, over here asswipes!"

All attention was turned towards Naruto, or rather his clone, who stood dead in front of the enemies pointing at them.

"Get a load of this!" He yelled before turning around and dropping his pants. The bandits were prepared for an attack, so the sight of the boy's bare ass caught everyone off guard as they could only stare on in shock and confusion.

"Now!" Shikamaru yelled as all three of them jumped out from the clearing and quickly closed the gap between the two groups. Before the three bandits could react, they were each dealt swift blows that knocked them unconscious at the same time. The woman looked around frantically under the bag from all the noise, only stopping when Naruto took it off of her head. She stared up at the blonde fearfully, tears running down her eyes while Naruto looked back at her uncomfortable.

"Um, this is only supposed to be an exercise right?" Naruto said glancing back at Ino and Shikamaru. The fact that this woman was actually crying and looked distraught was kind of throwing everything off for them.

"W-who are you? And what do you want with me!" She yelled backing up from the group clumsily because her hands were still tied. Naruto to tried calm her down, walking towards her with his arm up in a harmless position.

"Hey hey, take it easy now. We're the genin participating in the chunin exams, we're supposed to take you back to the instructors to pass?" Naruto half said and half asked, not even entirely sure what was going on himself anymore. The woman simply continued to back away with fear in her eyes, shaking her head at his words.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about! Those people, they just kidnapped me out of nowhere! And you say you're working with them?" She asked as not only Naruto but Shikamaru and Ino were getting more confused by the minute.

"She's definitely not the girl from the photo…" Shikamaru mumbled, staring down at the picture.

"What the hell is going on here Shika?" Ino whispered looking over at him. Shikamaru was at a loss of words himself, though he knew this entire situation had just got a lot more troublesome than it already was. Before anyone could react, the lady scrambled to her feet and broke out into a run, stunning Naruto for a second who watched her take off before snapping back to reality.

"H-hey! Where the hell are you going?!" He yelled taking off after her. It wasn't hard for him to catch up to her, grabbing her by the dress she was wearing and pulling her back towards him. He overestimated the momentum she was bringing however, and ended up bringing them both down to the ground. He landed on top of her, looking down into her eyes and taking note of how her irises were oddly slitted in shape, almost like an animal's.

"Damn it Naruto, don't hurt the poor woman!" Ino yelled pushing him off of her and helping the fellow blonde lady up to her feet. "Listen ma'am, I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but rest assured we don't plan on hurting you. We can take you back to the village if you would like?"

At first the woman still looked hesitant, but Ino's reassuring smile seemed to calm her down slightly. Ino reached behind her and undid the binds holding her hands together, helping her up to her feet as Naruto came back over.

"So, what's your name?" Ino asked when everything was finally settled. Though hesitant still, the lady eventually answered her.

"Mitsune." She said simply, getting a nod from Ino in acknowledgement.

"Well Mitsune, I'm Ino and these are my teammates Naruto and Shikamaru. If you come with us, we can make sure you get back to the village safely like I promised earlier." She said placing a hand on her shoulder. Mitsune shook her head yes, Ino beaming at her in response.

"Great, let's head back then!" She said taking the taller girl by the arm and leading her back towards the village. Naruto and Shikamaru stood back and watched what was happening, both still lost at what had just transpired. Shikamaru however eventually decided that worrying about it was too much of a bother and shrugged it off, following after the two and leaving Naruto to voice his confusion alone.

"I don't even...what?"

* * *

It took a little longer for them to get to the village than expected seeing as they had a civilian to care for, but eventually they found themselves back at the front gates. Naruto had spent most of the trip eyeing Mitsune, though for once it wasn't for perverse reasons. Sure, she was a looker with the long blonde hair, curvy body, and exotic eyes, but something else about her was catching his attention. Something else entirely.

Standing at the gate waiting for them were Darui, some other kumo shinobi, and oddly enough a woman in a dress similar to the one Mitsune was wearing. Naruto walking right up to the taller dark skin man while his team trailed behind.

"Um, Darui-san? I think we might have stumbled onto something during the exam." Naruto started as the man glanced down at him.

"Oh, and what's that?" He said not taking his eyes off Mitsune as she walked forward with Ino and Shikamaru.

"Well, you see, we found this lady being escorted out of the village, but she didn't seem to have any clue about the exams or what was going on. I think we might have stumbled upon an actual kidnapping case." He said tracing the man's hard stare back over at Mitsune, who he noticed was trying her hardest to avoid it. "Um, did you catch that? I said that-"

"Yeah, I heard ya kid. Well, you did a great job by escorting this... _real case_ back to village. We'll take over from here." Darui said walking over to Mitsune. " _Mitsune_ is it? Would you mind coming with me _miss Mitsune?"_ Darui asked grabbing her by the arm and dragging her off, followed by the other Kumo guards. He turned around towards Naruto and the others, addressing them before he went into the gates.

"Oh yeah, you guys pass the first exam. Head back to HQ for further instructions after all the other teams have finished." He said before continuing on his way. Ino watched them leave with a frown on her face.

"Why are they treating Mitsune like that? Kind of harsh for someone that was just kidnapped isn't it?" She asked as they made their way back into the village as well. Shikamaru shrugged it off as they made their way back to the headquarters.

"Whatever, it's not really our problem anyways." He said flippantly. Ino rolled her eyes as they continued on in silence. Though the whole fiasco with Mitsune had threw the atmosphere off, it was now clear that Naruto was still in a bad mood, judging by his silence and the look on his face. Ino for one was slightly scared to approach him after his outburst earlier, while Shikamaru wasn't scared per say but more so preoccupied by other thoughts that also involved the blond. Eventually they were back inside the building, making their way back into the room where the presentations took place until Ino stopped them.

"Hey, I think they're giving out food in the cafeteria if you guys want to eat?" She said pointing to the room while as they passed it. Shikamaru shrugged and walked inside it, Ino following before she noticed Naruto wasn't. "You coming whiskers?"

"You guys go ahead, not really all that hungry." He replied yawning as he continued on. He made his way back to the presentation room, opening the doors and going back to their spot near the top of stands.

Naruto took a seat, glancing around the room to see what other teams had passed. He instantly noted that Temari's team was already in the room and comfortable, as if they had been there for awhile. Other than them, the only other team present was one from Takigakure, a village Naruto had just learned about this very day. Two boys on the team, who appeared to be twins, were having a rather vibrant debate about sharks while the lone female was asleep next to them. Naruto admired her unique green hair for a moment before his attention was diverted to the doors opening up and another team coming inside.

"You think anyone else from the first section of teams made it in yet?" Omoi said stepping inside. He was answered by the three groups already inside, deflating a little as Samui and Karui nudged pass him. "Aw man, I thought we finished up pretty quickly all things considered…"

"We might have been first had someone decided not to take a bathroom break on the way back…" Karui mumbled as they made their way up the stands. Naruto watched them with mild interest, inadvertently catching the eyes of Samui who caught him staring. Figuring he was already caught, he gave her small wave in attempt to be humorous about the situation. He figured it worked as she smiled at him slightly and gave a sarcastic wave back in return. Karui saw the small interaction and looked over at Naruto curiously.

"Hey, you're the loudmouth from earlier!" She said pointing over at him. "The hell are you doing up here all alone, where's your team?"

"Maybe they got caught in a trap and died tragically, and he's the only one who managed to get away." Omoi said as he started to salute Naruto with tears brimming in his eyes. "I offer you my condolences, I know this must be a ha-"

"They're in the cafeteria getting something to eat." Naruto interrupted sweat dropping at the boy's actions. Omoi's eyes widened at that and he quickly turned towards his two teammates.

"I didn't know they had food, let's go!" He said grabbing Karui's arm and dragging her down the stairs despite her protests.

"I'm not really hungry, I'll catch you guys later." Samui said smiling and ignoring Karui's yelling of the word 'traitor!' as she was pulled down the stairs. Walking into the row, she took a seat next to Naruto as he slouched down lower into his seat. He glanced over at her curiously as the two sat in silence for a moment.

"So um, did you want something?" He asked after a few moments had passed. Samui, who was holding her face in her hands while looking at nothing in particular, shook her head negatively as she looked over at him.

"No, nothing in particular. Why, is me sitting here bothering you?" She asked, giving the faintest of smiles as Naruto quickly began to wave his hands to show it wasn't.

"No no, it's nothing like that. It's just you kind of surprised me that's all." He said returning to his relaxed state. Samui's smile widened as she returned to staring ahead blankly.

"Cool." She said as the two settled back into silence. Naruto however was growing more and more uncomfortable, feeling as though he should start up some form of conversation.

"Sooo, how are you liking the exams so far." He said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. Samui shrugged, not taking her eyes off of whatever it was she was looking at.

"It's cool." She said blankly, getting Naruto's face to drop slightly.

' _Welp, that didn't work.'_ Naruto thought squinting his eyes at her. Looking at her closely, he realized she was actually quite the looker. So much so that he actually got so preoccupied staring at her he didn't notice that she had said something to him.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

"I-uh, I mean, yes?" He said catching himself as Samui smiled slightly once again. Naruto couldn't tell, but that smile of hers felt oddly condescending in a way.

"I said is there something on my face, you were staring pretty hard there?" She asked turning to face him. Naruto blushed slightly as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"N-no, I was just uh...admiring?" He said skeptically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare…"

"It's cool, I don't particularly mind. So, admiring huh? Like what you see?" She said smirking over at him.

"Well um y-you see, when I said admiring what I actually meant was-" Naruto started before Samui broke out into laughter. She was trying her hardest to stifle it, but was failing miserably much to Naruto's embarrassment.

"You've got to relax, you're way to uptight. Be cool." Samui said finally calming down. "You'll be a virgin for life if you keep this up."

"How did you know I was a virgin!" Naruto blurted out before throwing his hands over his mouth. This time Samui couldn't hold it in and bursted out into laughter as Naruto grumbled and shrunk further down into his seat with a blush on his face.

' _Damn it Naruto get it together! You've never let a girl fluster you like this before!'_ Naruto yelled in his head as a pep talk. He heard the faint rumblings of laughter in the back of his head, which only fueled his rage. ' _I know that isn't you back there furball, I'll kick your ass!'_

" **I'd love to see you try boy, I could use a good meal. Though you would hardly suffice."** The Kyuubi said. Naruto growled as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Alright, I hope you enjoyed this small victory of yours because I'll definitely be paying you back for this." Naruto said as Samui was still struggling to calm down.

"Oh yeah? I look forward to it." Samui said, Naruto grumbling about a lack of respect. He was about to continue when the doors opened and Team 7 stumbled into the room, much to the surprise of Naruto.

"So you guys were sent out with the first group as well? Looks like you're the last team from our section to pass." Naruto said as they walked up the aisle. Sasuke grunted in response as he took a seat in the row in front of them. Judging by not only his appearance but the others as well, it was clear that they had run into some rough times.

"It was crazy, we went against this team from Kumo and they damn near electrocuted us to death!" Kiba yelled sitting down next to Sasuke and turning to face Naruto. "Really, for some genin they sure knew a lot jutsu, though they had to at least be in their twenties."

"Hey, you're from here as well right Samui? Kumogakure?" Naruto asked looking over at the girl.

"Yep." She replied flicking the headband around her arm. "Born and raised."

"Neat," Naruto said turning back to Kiba. "So you guys had a hard time huh? Man, and I thought we had it rough."

"I'm sooo tired." Sakura said from her seat. "It could've been way worse though I guess."

"Yeah, did you hear about what happened to the two other teams that went out?" Kiba said nudging Naruto.

"No, what?" The blonde asked, both him and Samui listening in with some interest.

"Well, one of the teams had two guys come back with basically holes punctured through their bodies. Jury's still out on whether or not they're going to make it." Kiba said. Naruto flinched at that one, seeing as he actually knew a lot about how that situation came to be. "Crazy enough, that wasn't even the worst to happen out there."

"Do tell." Naruto said, both curious about what else happened and hoping to move away from the previous subject.

"Well, another team went flat out missing. No trace of them was found anywhere, even after a search party was sent out." Kiba continued, Naruto's eyes widened with surprise. "Yup, the only thing they found was a single headband. They were from Suna I think, and ironically enough the team they were against was from their as well."

"Wait, they went against another team from Suna? Then that means the team they went against were…" Naruto trailed, staring down at Temari's team. His eyes lingered on Gaara, who seemingly feeling his stare turned to look back at him. The two watched each other in silence, a sense of tension forming that only they could feel. It was broken up however by the snapping of fingers in front of Naruto's face, who turned to see Samui looking up at him.

"Didn't we have a discussion about staring at people or have you not learned your lesson yet?" She said playfully as Naruto blinked at her. Kiba watched the interaction with a leering grin, focusing it on Naruto as he sat back down again.

"So Naruto, who's your friend?" He said looking over at Samui.

"Huh? Oh, this is Samui. And I'd prefer if you didn't try to hit on her, I'd like our relationship to last and I don't need you scaring her away." Naruto said, getting a giggle from Samui and a glare from Kiba.

"Dude! That was totally uncalled for man, I wasn't going to hit on her!" Kiba yelled angrily. Naruto's blank stare at him started to wear him down a little however, and he turned around in his chair to face forward with his arms over his chest. "Yet."

Naruto sighed at his friend's antics as the doors to the room opened again. This time it was Ino and Shikamaru, followed by Karui and Omoi as they came up to join the others.

"Oh man, that was delicious." Omoi said sitting to the right of Samui. Karui sat next to him, still looking rather miffed about being dragged along.

"Here Whiskers, I brought you back a bowl of ramen." Ino said sitting next to Naruto. Naruto took it out of her hands with a look of surprise on his face.

"You didn't have to get me anything Ino-chan, I really wasn't hungry." He said while opening up the container. Ino was about to feel about it until she saw the boy was already digging into the bowl, tick marks forming on her head at the sight.

"Well you sure don't look hungry, you're right about that." She said as he looked up with a mouthful of noodles. It was then that she noticed Samui sitting next to him, sparking her curiosity. Samui noticed her stare and looked back at her, Naruto seemingly oblivious to the staring contest happening on either side of him.

"Ahhh, that hit the spot." He said placing the chopsticks on top of the bowl. Now that he had finished his meal, he couldn't help but feel that there was a little animosity in the air. He chalked that up to himself being weird however as once again the doors to the rooms opened up, this time Darui walking inside.

"Alright for those of you who are in here, listen up!" He yelled gaining everyone's attention. "All of you guys have passed on to the next part of the exams. Now, testing for the first will still be taking place for the rest of the day, so you guys are free to go back to wherever you're staying at. Any interference with the other teams still testing however will result in immediate expulsion from the rest of the exams. Report back at this building tomorrow morning for the start of the second exams at the same time you came for today's. Oh, and congratulations."

"Finally!" The green haired girl Naruto noticed earlier said standing up and stretching. She promptly stood up and began to walk out of the door, her two teammates getting up to follow after her. Gaara and his two siblings followed suit, leaving out right behind them as he gave Naruto a final glance.

"You know, after that bowl of ramen I actually am pretty hungry, maybe I'll go grab something." Naruto said looking up in thought. Samui perked up slightly at that, and stood up from her seat.

"Great, I'm actually hungry myself. Come on, we can go together then." She said grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of his seat. Karui looked up at her with her mouth agape as she continued down the stairs with Naruto in tow.

"Hey, what about us?!" She yelled as Samui stopped for a moment to look back.

"You guys already ate right, why would you need to come along? I'll see you guys later." She said pulling the slightly protesting blonde out the door. For a moment the entire room was quiet at what had just transpired. That is, until Kiba spoke up.

"That lucky son of a bitch…" He mumbled out loud in a daze. Sasuke sighed as he got up to leave out, stopping only when he heard slight snoring coming from beside him. Looking over, he saw that Sakura was sound asleep on the spot next to him. He looked over at Kiba, who shook his head no at whatever mental conversation the two were having.

"I did it last time, it's your turn king of the broods." He said walking towards the door. Sasuke grunted as he picked the girl up and carried her on his back, ignoring the mumblings of his name coming from her mouth.

"We'll see you guys around I guess." Kiba said waving over his shoulder towards Shikamaru and Ino. Shikamaru waved back in response while Ino was still staring forward blankly, a position she had been in since Naruto had left out with Samui. Shikamaru glanced over at her worriedly as he stood up to leave as well.

"I guess we'll have to wait until later to see whether Choji and the others passed...Uh, Ino? Are you okay?" He said as the girl continued to stare forward. After a while, she stood up from her seat and began to walk down the stairs. She turned around halfway down to smile sweetly at Shikamaru, so sweetly in fact that it unnerved the boy to no end.

"I'm fine Shika, just fine." She said her grin widening as she turned to continue towards the door. In the end, Shikamaru was alone in the room as he stared after her, contemplating whether or not he would be better off just staying here for the night. Eventually, he too began to make his way down the stairs with a heavy sigh.

"Troublesome…"

* * *

After allowing himself to be dragged around by Samui, Naruto now found himself exiting a sushi restaurant, having paid for both him and his female companion. He sighed as he looked at the remaining of his funds, noting that his frog wallet was going through quite the diet.

"If there's one thing that sucks about the chunin exams, it's the lack of missions." He grumbled to himself. Just then Samui came from out of the restaurant, raising her eyebrow at the boy's words.

"What was that?" She asked walking up to him.

"To put it bluntly, I'm broke." He said getting the girls now signature smirk in return.

"You know, I didn't say you had to pay for me. I could've brought my food myself." She said starting to walk down the road. Naruto shrugged as he followed after her, holding his hands behind his head.

"It wouldn't feel right if I didn't pay for you. And trust me, you weren't what put me in this position. A series of bad choices on my end put me in this situation." Naruto said thinking of all the bad monetary choices he had made in the last month. Maybe buying those special edition ramen pajamas wasn't a good idea after all…

"Well, aren't you a gentlemen. Keep this up and you might find that girlfriend yet." She said sarcastically, getting Naruto to blush. Before he could respond, the sound of a bag dropping caught their attention as they looked up to see someone standing in front of them. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized who it was.

"Hachi-" he said as the boy looked up at him in fear. Before he could continue the boy had scrambled to grab his bag and runoff in the opposite direction, leaving Naruto with his hand hanging out. Samui watched the scene in silence, looking over at Naruto as he stared after the younger boy. Eventually he turned and gave Samui a smile, though she could easily tell it was forced.

"Well, I think I'd better get back to my hotel. I'll see you around Sam-" he started, turning away before she grabbed his arm.

"I don't think so mister, you still have to walk me home." She said pulling him along down the street. Naruto was about to protest, but figured he'd be better off just going along with it. They walked on in silence until Samui decided to start up the conversation. "That kid, Hachi, he was from one of the teams in the chunin exams right?"

"Yeah, the team that we ended up going against." Naruto answered quietly as the two continued on.

"He looked pretty scared of you." Samui said bluntly, Naruto smiling bitterly at her comment.

"Yeah well, tearing holes in other people tends to make people fear you I guess." He said, Samui's eyes widening at that information.

"So you were the one who did that?" She said a little surprised at that bit of information. She instantly regretted how she said it however when she saw how Naruto's face fell. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just surprised, you don't seem like you'd be capable of something like that."

"I'm not! It's just that sometimes…" he started before trailing off. "You know what, nevermind. Actually I'd rather not talk about it."

Samui nodded in acceptance, after all the two had just officially met only a few hours ago. It made sense that he wouldn't want to open up to basically a stranger, she'd feel the same way in his position.

"Well, this is my stop." She said turning to face the blonde, lifting the bag of food up with a smile. "Thanks for the food."

"No problem!" Naruto said giving her a genuine smile, one that she returned happily. Naruto watched as she turned to go into her apartment, mulling over what he was considering doing next. "Samui!"

"Yeah?" She asked stopping at her door. Naruto was silent, staring at the ground momentarily before he looked back up into her green eyes.

"Is there any particular reason you singled me out? I mean not that I didn't enjoy the company or anything!" Naruto said correcting himself hastily. "It's just that, well it's been kind of bothering me this whole time. Is there something you wanted?"

Samui stared at him for a moment before closing her eyes and turning to head inside of her house.

"I thought you'd be an interesting person to get to know Uzumaki-san." She said looking over her shoulder. "Do I need any other reason?"

With that, she went inside of her apartment and closed the door. Naruto watched it for a little while, a slight blush on his face before he scratched his head and turned to head back to his hotel.

"I _really_ don't get women at all." He mumbled to himself, though he couldn't help the smile on his face.

Back in her apartment, Samui sighed as leaned against the door slightly. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at another set of green ones as her brother peeked from behind the wall.

"Need some brotherly advice?" He asked hopefully as Samui walked passed him. Going into her room, she turned in the doorway to face him as his eyes lit up with hope.

"Kagura-san called earlier. She said it's over." She said plainly before closing her door. Atsui stared at the closed door with his mouth agape before scrambling to get out of his chair and bang on it.

"Wait, when did she call?! Why am I just now hearing about this?! Come on Samui, please open up!"

* * *

Naruto opened the door to his team's hotel room and let out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding as it seemed Shikamaru and Ino had already went to sleep. Walking over to the couch in the dark, Naruto simply three off his top shirt as he prepared to collapse, only to jump up while screaming after he heard a 'ouch' as he laid down. Reaching over to open the curtains up, the moonlight revealed Ino laying down, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she glared up at the boy.

"Jeez Whiskers, watch where the hell your landing that body of yours." She said raising herself up into a sitting position. "So, did you have a great night out with Mrs. already developed?"

"Who the hell are you talking-" Naruto started before looking up in thought. "Well her chest is pretty big already...almost as big as.."

"What was that?" Ino asked leaning in curiously, causing Naruto to jump back.

"Ahh, it was nothing!" The boy said waving his hands in front of him. Relaxing a little, he sat down on the couch as Ino let out a heavy yawn next to him. "Why are you still up, you should get some rest for tomorrow."

I could say the same for you. I know you're a walking battery but you still need to get some rest you know." She replied, Naruto not really listening. Grabbing at her arm, she glanced down in thought before looking back up Naruto. "Naruto, are you okay?"

Naruto looked away from the TV with a slight look of surprise on his face as he stared at his teammate. "I'm fine Ino-chan, where did that come from?"

"Well it's just that you've been acting a little different lately. And what happened during the exams seemed to be really bothering you." She said rubbing at her arm. "I mean you don't have to feel guilty, we're shinobi you know. We have to be prepared to handle death."

Naruto looked away as those words came out of her mouth. He wanted to tell her that that's easy to say when you've never killed someone yourself, or when you don't have a demon inside of you that you couldn't be sure wasn't influencing your actions. He wanted to tell her that it was not only the feeling of having killed someone that was getting to him, but the fact of how easily he was able to do so as if a human life was basically nothing.

He wanted to tell her how he still felt responsible for the death of Haku, or rather how he knew he was responsible for her death. He wanted to tell her how the more he went on, the more he felt ostracized from his peers. Most of all, he wanted to tell her the truth about himself. He wanted to tell her about how he held the Kyuubi, and how his very presence was a danger to her. He wanted to tell her everything.

He found however that he simply couldn't find the words to do so. And the more her worried blue eyes stared into his own, the more jumbled and confused his thoughts became.

"I'm…I'm fine Ino-chan. You don't have to worry about me." He said giving her a tentative smile. "You should get some rest, I can almost guarantee tomorrow's test is going to be harder than what we experienced today."

A ting of pain stung inside Ino's heart as she watched him smile at herself. She knew he was hiding something, and desperately wanted to pry the information out of him. However, she knew that right now probably wasn't the best of time, considering all that was going on. And so, she decided to let Naruto hold on to whatever grip he had that was keeping everything together for now. She got up and walked into her room, closing the door behind her as Naruto prepared to lay down.

Listening through the crack of his own door, Shikamaru frowned at what had just transpired. He was actually hoping for Naruto to open up to Ino, especially about the Kyuubi, seeing as the sooner that was all in the open the sooner it would not be a problem. Still, he had to consider how she would handle the information. Would Ino really think any different of him if she learned what she held? He'd like to think so, but you could never know what was going through someone's mind, unless ironically you were a Yamanaka. Sighing, he moved over to get in his bed and get some rest of his own.

' _I knew these chunin exams would be one big headache, and we haven't even got to the worst yet.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself. ' _Well, guess I'll sleep on it.'_

* * *

Over the night horizon, two figures stood looking over Kumogakure. The taller of the two lifted up his hat to peer down on the city, grinning as his sharp teeth glistened in the moonlight.

"Well, this'll be fun don't you think?" He said looking over at his smaller companion. The shorter man opened his eyes, their blood red color practically glowing in the night. They seemed to be quickly scanning the village, as if they were searching for something before he closed them again silently.

"Remember, we're not here to start anything. Just to gather information on all the Jinchuuriki who are in this area currently." The man said as the taller one let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, isn't it like five of them down there? Really, why didn't we just storm the place and take em all at once? Would've been a good time if you ask me." He said, fingering the handle of his sword absentmindedly. The smaller man didn't reply, simply beginning his descent down the mountain and into the village.

' _How have you been...Sasuke.'_

* * *

 **12,000 words. That's 4,000 more than my previous record. I applaud those on this site who are consistently able to do this in a reasonable time. I hope to soon join your ranks my friends.**

 **Anyways, that's the start of the chunin exams for you. Things are going to be coming at you fast for the next few chapters, so be ready for that. The website's acting all weird today as well so I can't do the line breaks, I'll update that as soon as I can. As always, any questions? Drop em in the reviews. Or message me. I'm a nice guy all things considered.**


	12. The Fox and The Weasel

**Chapter 12: The Fox and The Weasel**

* * *

Naruto let out a loud yawn as he made his way back into the building where the chunin exams were being held. Ino and Shikamaru were waiting for him at the door, both looking rather irritated by his tardiness.

"You should have got up and gotten ready when I told you." Ino said kicking herself off the wall and turning to head inside. Naruto gave his trademark grin while rubbing the back of his, getting the girl to roll her eyes at him.

"What can I say, five minutes turned into 30." He said. Shikamaru actually nodded his head in agreement at the boy's statement.

"Actually, he's right. It happens sometimes you know?" He said, him and Naruto sharing a high five as the sole female member of their squad looked on in disgust.

"I honestly can't with you two…" she said shaking her head as she opened the doors to room they were to be briefed at. They noticed right off the bat that the amount teams present were much smaller than the other day, the room almost looking empty in comparison.

"I wonder did-oh nevermind, there they are." Naruto said waving over at Team 8. "Looks like they made it after all, sweet!"

"That's surprising, all of rookie nine managed to make it through the first round." Ino said as they walked up the stairs. "Maybe we'll all end up getting promoted?"

"Don't get your hopes up." Shikamaru said as they sat down in their spot. As if on cue, everyone from Konoha seemed to gravitate over towards them.

"Hey, you guys arrived pretty late today, though I guess not seeing as the instructor isn't here yet." Sakura said looking back towards the front of the room. "What took you?"

"Well Naruto here decided to sleep in on one of the most important days of our shinobi careers so far." Ino said clearly still upset about the situation.

"Aw jeez, look around, nobodies even here yet! There was no harm done!" Naruto said trying to plead his case. It seemed to fall on deaf ears though as Ino simply continued to examing her nails, not giving the boy even the slightest of attention.

"Looks like Konoha's tied for the highest second round turn out with Kumogakure, that's gotta' bode well for our village." Tenten said looking around the room. "I'm guessing this next round is going to be a killer though."

"Ah killer, smiller, we'll be ready. Nobody's stopping me from getting that damn vest." Naruto said with a determination. Though no one would admit it, the boy's words sent a morale boost through everyone there. Though some of them couldn't tell if it was confidence or ignorance driving him.

"Looks like we're about to start." Choji said as the doors to the room opened up. Darui walked to the front of the room, looking through the remaining students with a lazy demeanor about himself.

"Wow, I did better than I expected. I was thinking a lot more teams would have passed than this." He mumbled to himself surprised by how empty the room was. Clearing his throat, he started the presentation. "Alright, congratulations on passing the first part of the exams. You'll be getting a new instructor who will be supervising you for the second part. She should be coming in right about...now."

The sound of somebody running down the halls caught the attention of everyone in the room. Suddenly, the doors shot open and a blonde blur rushed through the room and stood next to Darui.

"Whew, just in time!" The new addition said panting as she leaned over to catch her breathe. Settling down, she stood upright and greeted everyone in the room with a big smile. "Hello, I'll be your instructor for this part of the exam."

Naruto stared at her closely, his nose twitching as he picked up her scent. His eyes went wide as he stood up and pointed down at her, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Hey, you're Mitsune aren't you? What the hell are you doing here?" He said as Ino too stood up in recognition.

"I thought you looked familiar, what the hell's going on here?!" She said putting her hands on her hip. Darui looked over at the blonde in amusement as she rubbed her head in embarrassment, similar to another person in the room.

"You see, about that…" she started before trailing off at the end. Eventually she perked back up, clapping her hands together as her smile widened. "Well nevermind that, let's focus on the now!"

"That's Yugito-san for you." Karui said looking at what was transpiring with an exhausted expression. Omoi simply nodded in agreement.

"My name is Yugito, and I'll be your instructor for this part of the exam." She said taking on a slightly more serious tone as she began to explain the exam. "I guess I'll preface it all by saying this; only 8 teams will be passing on to the final portion of this competition."

Instantly the room became livelier as everyone began to speak out against what she just said. Yugito allowed it to continue on for a little longer before holding her hand up to gather everyone's attention back to her.

"I know, but like it or not that's how things are going down. Now, onto what this particular exam is going to entail. Scattered throughout the mountain ranges surrounding the village are a series of beacons, 8 to be exact, that must be retrieved and brought back to an extraction point in order for your team to pass." She said glancing around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention. "It's simple really, the first 8 teams to retrieve the beacons and bring them back to rendezvous point will pass on to the second round."

"Wait, you really expect us to search the entire mountain ranges surrounding this village for some small beacon thing? That could take forever!" A boy yelled out from the stands. Naruto noted that it was one of the boy's from the team with the green haired girl, who oddly enough was once again sleeping even though an explanation was going on.

"Don't worry, you won't be left completely in the dark out there. Every 12 hours from the start of the exam, the beacons will let out a series of pulses to help you determine their location. After that, it's matter of getting there before another team is able to. Now, anymore questions?" Yugito replied looking around the room. Gaara surprisingly raised his hand, getting Naruto to perk up a little as he wondered what kind of questions would run through his mind. "Yes?"

"We're allowed to kill our opponents, right?"

' _Yep. Should've saw that one coming.'_ Naruto thought with a sweatdrop as Yugito shared his expression.

"Well, I mean technically there's no rule against it so yeah, sure?" Yugito replied, getting a nod from the red head in response. Clearing her throat to move on from the awkwardness of the situation, Yugito looked around to make sure there were no more questions. "That all? Well in that case, knock yourselves out!"

With that, she and Darui walked out of the room as the other occupants stared on in confusion. After a few moments, she poked her head back in to look up at them with confusion as well.

"Um, you guys do know the exam started right?" She said as everyone continued to stare down at her. For a moment no one moved, but then everyone began to make a mad charge for the doors. Naruto was about to follow suit when Shikamaru grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back into his seat.

"Nope, we are not joining in on that mess. We'll wait it out." Shikamaru said as he watched teams scramble to leave the room. Naruto was about to protest until he heard someone yell out 'my leg!', and decided maybe waiting was the best course of action. Eventually the room cleared, and all was silent as Team 10 finally stood up to leave. That is, until the noticed they weren't alone in the room. Looking back up at them was the team of the boy who had asked Yugito a question, and Naruto noticed that the green haired girl's golden eyes were specifically on him.

"Well look at this Fu, we weren't the only team who decided to wait that mess out." The blue haired boy who had asked the question said. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, similar to the other boy on the team although his hair was a flaming red in comparison. "Should we take em' out now?"

Fuu continued to stare at Naruto, her gaze both lazy and calculative as he matched it with his own. Eventually, she closed her eyes and began to head over to the doors.

"Aito, Kaito, we're leaving." She said as the red head boy now know as Aito headed after her quietly. Kaito groaned slightly as he begrudgingly followed after them, throwing his hands behind his head in irritation.

"You guys are no fun, I swear…" he grumbled as they exited the room. Team 10 watched them leave quietly before Shikamaru turned towards Naruto.

"I noticed that little stare down between you and that Fuu girl. What's with you and your attracting of weirdos. Dangerous weirdos at that." Shikamaru said shaking his head as he too head for the exit. Naruto pouted in protest as he and Ino followed after.

"I don't attract weirdos, they come to me! Wait…" Naruto said before realizing what had came out of his mouth.

"Idiot…" Ino said shaking her head before turning to Shikamaru. "Well Shika you know the drill, what's the plan here?"

Shikamaru simply continued to stare forward as they made their way out of the building and back outside. Looking over at a clock and noticing that it was 8 in the morning, he scratched his head slightly before turning back to his other two teammates.

"We are...going back to the hotel." He said before turning around and continuing on to the street. Naruto and Ino stared after him with deadpanned looks on their faces as they waited for him to tell them the real plan. When they realized he wasn't turning around however they ran after him, Naruto grabbing him by the collar and whipping him around to face them.

"Look, I know you're a lazy bastard and all but this is really taking it to another level." Naruto said holding him by the shoulders and staring him deep in the eyes. "Do you need counseling or something? Is something going on at home Shika? You can tell me you know."

"First off, I feel like you're the last person who should be questioning someone's mental health." Shikamaru said slapping Naruto's hands off of him. "Second of all, there's a reason for doing this. Think about it realistically, do you really believe we're going to be able to find some tiny beacon spread throughout all of those mountain ranges without some short of clue?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Ino said grabbing at her chin. "Still, shouldn't we at least leave the village?"

"For what? The only thing out there right now is a bunch of trouble, let those other teams go ahead and search their hearts out while we get some much needed rest." Shikamaru replied as they continued down the street. Naruto still didn't feel exactly right just sitting around while there were other teams out potentially getting a head start on them, but he also couldn't argue against anything Shikamaru had said.

' _Well, he hasn't led us astray yet. I guess I can trust him on this one.'_ Naruto thought shrugging his shoulders as he followed after the two.

* * *

 **(12 hours Later)**

Shikamaru had immediately retreated into his room once they got to the hotel, stating that he needed to rest his brain after thinking of this master plan and that they needed to stay alert for the signal. That in itself did nothing to quench Naruto and Ino's belief that the boy was just being lazy, but still they gave him the benefit of doubt. Though she tried to stay up and keep Naruto company, Ino too ended up taking a nap towards the end of their wait, leaving Naruto sitting on the couch next to her as the last one awake.

' _It's starting to get dark out.'_ He thought to himself as he stared out the window. Glancing over at the clock, he saw that it was 8:50, leaving only 10 more minutes until the first supposed signal was to be sent out. Figuring it was time to wake the others up, he looked over at Ino's sleeping form on the other end of the couch. She squirmed a little in her sleep as his eyes landed on her, though judging by her state he doubt it was because she had noticed him. He actually was hesitant to wake her up, seeing as she was looking extremely peaceful in her current state.

"Maybe I'll get Shikamaru up first, that bastards definitely got enough sleep." He said sliding her feet from off of his lap walking over to the boy's room. He was surprised to see the light was already on, and peeked inside to see Shikamaru sitting up in his bed staring down at something. Curiously, he made his way fully into the room, effectively catching the black haired boy's attention.

"You're awake? I figured I would've had to drag you out of this apartment." Naruto said looking down at what was holding his attention. It turned out to be a map, specifically off the outer area of Kumogakure.

"I figured it would be rather troublesome to get lost out in those mountain ranges, so I've been studying the map a little to at least have some familiarity with the area." Shikamaru said yawning into his hand. "It's should be almost time to head out right?"

"Five minutes until the first signal should be sent out. I'm gonna' go make sure everything's setup, can you wake up Ino-chan for me?" Naruto said moving out of the room. Stepping into his own, he grabbed everything he figured he would need before walking back into the living room. Shikamaru and Ino were both going over their things as well, Ino letting out a yawn as Naruto came in.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you there, Whiskers. I didn't know I was that tired." She said, Naruto waving it off.

"It's fine, I'd rather you'd be rested and prepared for whatever we might run into out there anyways." Naruto said glancing down at his watch. "Ten seconds you guys."

Shikamaru and Ino stood up to stand next to Naruto who was facing out the window. He stared down at his watch as the final seconds ticked away, and exactly when the clock struck nine a series of pulses instantly shot through his body, coming from different directions.

"You guys feel that?" He said as he hopped up onto the window seal.

"Yeah, it feels like faint pulses of chakra shooting out from different directions. Now what are we supposed to do?" She said as Naruto dropped down to the ground with her and Shikamaru following.

"I think I can feel which one is closest to us, why don't we head for that one?" Naruto said looking back at his two teammates. "From what I can tell, all eight beacons are still out in rotation so it looks like Shika's gamble paid off."

"Lead the way then Whiskers." Ino said as Naruto nodded and headed up for the roof tops. It didn't take long for them to reach the gates to the village and head out into the mountain ranges, which they were down scaling at a rapid rate. After about 10 minutes of constant moving though, Naruto stopped abruptly as the pulses from the beacons had all but faded now.

"Looks like the help session is over with, I'm not feeling anymore pulses." Naruto said looking around the rocky clearing.

"I stopped feeling them about five minutes ago." Ino said panting slightly as she tried to catch her breath. "You sure you're not a sensor or something?"

Naruto shrugged at her question as he continued to look around the clearing. _'I could have sworn the beacon wasn't that far from the village. We should have ran into it by now, but it seemed like it was getting farther and farther away.'_ He thought to himself as he continued to look around the clearing. It was then that his thoughts jumped back to what Ino had said, as he quickly turned around to face the girl. "Hey, wait a minute, what did you just say?"

"Huh?" She said a little startled by how quickly his attention turned to her. "Um, I asked if you were a sensor type. I was just joking though-"

"Hold on a minute." Naruto said holding a hand up to cut her off. "You said you stopped sensing the beacon five minutes ago? Is that true for you as well Shika?"

"Yeah, it lasted about five minutes and then stopped." He said narrowing his eyes at the blond. "What are you thinking?"

' _Could I have some type of sensor ability? That would explain how I was able to keep track of the beacon for longer than these two. There's also that time when we had track down Mitsu-I mean, Yugito-san in the first round.'_ Naruto thought to himself. Just like that, he began to remember all sorts of previous scenarios where he somehow just seemed to know where people were, even dating back to his childhood. The only way he could think to explain it was…

' _Hey Furball, are you there?'_

…

' _Furball?'_

…

' _HELLOOOOOOOOO-'_

" **WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR INSIGNIFICANT LIFE!** _ **"**_ The Kyuubi roared as he was awakened from his slumber. Naruto winced at the volume, before steeling his resolve as he prepared to continue.

' _Sorry about that. So um, listen, seeing as i'm your...host I guess? Do I get some type of special powers or something?'_ He asked. At first he was met with silence, but then a slight rumble rolled through his mindscape.

" **Seeing as you are the first to have me sealed inside you the way I am, I suppose it's not out of the realm of reality that some of my abilities have been passed on to you. Why?** _ **"**_ The kyuubi asked genuinely curious. It wasn't that he cared for the boy, quite the contrary actually, but if his host were was boasting something that could prove troublesome in the future then he wanted to know about it.

' _Ok, how about chakra sensing? Like being able to sense people or track their chakra?'_ Naruto asked once again being met with silence for awhile.

" **Your two predecessors showed no such traits, though as I stated earlier you are different. It may or may not be an effect of our...relationship** _ **."**_ The beast replied as Naruto mulled over what he just said.

' _Well, how do you do it? Or rather how can I do it? I could really use it right about now.'_ Naruto asked as the Kyuubi growled in response.

" **Fool, as if I would waste my time explaining something that would serve to benefit you and not me. Do not mistake my actions as a sign of camaraderie. The day will soon come where I'm free of this oppressive cell."** He boasted inside the boy's mind. Naruto was effectively riled up, gritting his teeth as his anger boiled over and he prepared to retort towards the fox when the snapping of fingers in front of his face brought him back to reality.

"Helloooo, earth to Naruto! What the hell is wrong with you?" Ino said leaning forward a little to stare in the slightly smaller boy's face directly. "You blanked out there for like a full 2 minutes, are you on drugs or something?"

"What? No! I was just…thinking! That's it!" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Ino narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously as she backed away slowly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I find that rather hard to believe considering who I'm talking to but whatever." She said flippantly ignoring the glare he sent her way. "So, did all that thinking lead to something?"

"Kind of, I don't know actually." Naruto said getting a blank look from the girl. "Still, I guess it's worth a shot."

With that, Naruto took a seat on the ground and closed his eyes, Shikamaru and Ino both watching on in interest. _'Alright Naruto, focus. Let's see if I know what the hell i'm doing.'_ He thought to himself as he tried to feel for any source of chakra. Nothing happened though, and Naruto was beginning to get a little frustrated. _'Ok, what happens if I do this.'_

Naruto began to focus his thoughts on Ino and Shikamaru, hoping that maybe having something in mind would be able to trigger something. At first it seemed like it was in vain, but then Naruto began to notice something. _'This feeling, it's just like the time I noticed that group back in the forest! Let's see, this first one feels rather warm and tingly. It's giving off vibes that feel rather irritated, but warm nonetheless.'_ He shuffled his sitting position as he tried to focus some more.

' _Alright, this next one feels...sad? No, more like...relaxed yet still slightly on edge, with a hint of irritation to it as well. This one must be Shikamaru, and the other Ino! I think I did it!'_ Naruto thought to himself, allowing himself a moment of small celebration before getting back to business. _'Alright, now focus on the feeling that beacon gave off.'_

Naruto scrunched his face up in concentration as he tried to remember what it felt like when sensing the beacon. It was considerably harder, Naruto theorizing that it was likely because he knew Shikamaru and Ino so well that he was able to track them down so well. A picture started to slowly appear in his mind, but it was slightly different than what he was expecting.

' _This chakra, it's…Yugito-sans? At least I think so. I guess that make sense, they probably used her chakra to feel up the beacons. Now let's see if I can...got it!'_ With that, Naruto shot up from the ground and broke off into a full blown sprint, Ino yelling out in surprise at the sudden movement while Shikamaru quickly followed after him. He found it hard to do so though, as Naruto was running like a man possessed and showed no signs of slowing down.

"Hey Naruto, what the hell? Did you find something?" He asked when he finally managed to get within speaking distance. Naruto glanced back at him before turning back forward and continuing on.

"Can't talk, must focus." He mumbled as he continued to run. Eventually they came to the edge of a cliff, with Naruto not missing beat as he jumped off the edge without showing any signs of concern. He slid down the side of the slope, kicking up a dust cloud as did so before using chakra to stick the surface and continued running down it. He reached the bottom and fell into what looked like a large valley, with a river running down the middle in between two mountains. Shikamaru caught up with him as he began to walk towards the river, followed by Ino.

"A little heads up would have sufficed next time, thanks guys!" Ino said as she watched Naruto bend over by the river. "What the hell, don't tell me you were just thirsty Whiskers?"

Naruto didn't answer, instead standing up slowly with his back towards them. He then turned around, holding in his hand a small animal. Upon closer inspection, Ino could see that it was a small, yellowish-orange fox, most likely still a baby based on its size. Naruto grinned as he turned the fox back around to face him.

"Looks like this little guy was who we were chasing all along." He said smiling down at it. Ino didn't know what he was talking about at first, until she looked at what was on the animal's back. Strapped to him was a small orb like artifact, giving off an almost unnoticeable glow. "This is definitely the beacon, it's giving off the same feeling as I was sensing earlier.

"No wonder we couldn't find it at first then. It was actually moving around." Shikamaru said scratching at his head. "Man, they really went all out to make this exam as troublesome as possible."

"And we're going to be the first team done by a long shot, didn't I tell you guys everything would work out." Naruto said as he released the fox from the strap on its back. Shaking itself as if to celebrate the help, the small animal stared up at Naruto curiously as the boy examined the orb. Noticing the fox's stare, he reached inside pocket and threw out a energy bar he had. "There you go, you hungry little guy?"

The fox took the treat without any reservation, eating it quickly as the group prepared to head out. Finishing up, the animal quickly climbed on top of Naruto's back, resting on his shoulder as Naruto glanced over at him.

"Looks like he likes you." Ino said with a giggle as Naruto picked him up. Shrugging his shoulder, Naruto opened up his jacket a little and set the animal inside, allowing his head to stick out in front of his chest so it could breathe.

"Rather fitting that it's a fox huh?" Naruto said to no one in particular before stretching slightly. "Alright, let's take this back to the drop off point and get this exam over with!"

Shikamaru was silent as all this had unfolded. He watched Naruto and Ino beam at each other as they made their way down the riverside, scratched his head slightly in thought. _'This was rather easy...too easy considering how we have a knack of getting into troublesome situations.'_ He thought as he began to follow after them. _'Whatever, better not jinx it I guess.'_

* * *

 **(2 Hours Later)**

"Um, guys."

' _Damn it.'_

"Do you feel that?" Naruto said standing a little more alert than he did earlier. Ino was about to remark that he was the only sensor on this team when she picked up on what he was talking about, a nasty chill running down her spine.

"What is that? It feels so...dark." She said shuddering one last time as the feeling began to fade. Naruto frowned as he stared in the direction the energy was coming from, seemingly staring off into space before his eyes widened.

"Oh no, I think I can sense Sakura-chan and Kiba in that direction!" He yelled catching both of his two teammates attention.

"What? Is anyone else over there?" Shikamaru said stepping up. Naruto nodded as he turned back towards his teammates. "I'm not entirely sure, but this feels like them. Only thing is… I don't feel Sasuke at all. Just them and that evil chakra...wait, is that another team?" He said trying to make out the signals he was receiving.

"Should we go check it out? Whatever's happening over there doesn't seem good at all." Ino said looking in the direction worriedly. Shikamaru was hesitant to do so, seeing as they had all but completed the exam already. Still, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to one of his friends and he could have prevented it.

"Damn it, let's go. Naruto, lead the way!" He said getting a salute from the boy.

"Roger that, follow me!" He said taking off in a sprint. From what he could tell, they weren't very far away from their current position. In fact, they were just on the other side of this mountain in front of them. Running around the side of the giant structure, the 'evil' feeling Naruto was sensing was starting to get stronger. Though it wasn't just him, as now both Shikamaru and Ino could clearly feel what he was talking about.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered as they turned the corner into a small clearing. It lead into a cave, where Naruto was staring at anxiously.

"Whatever the hell is going on, it's happening inside of there." Naruto said looking back at his two teammates. "You guys ready?"

"Does it really matter?" Ino said as she began to walk inside. Naruto shrugged in response as he followed after her, Shikamaru taking point in the back. The inside of the cave was illuminated by small, glowing blue crystals that gave off a eerie light. It was just barely enough in order for them to see where they were going. Ino creeped forward slowly as they began to close in on where the power was coming from. That is, until a yell ran out throughout the cave.

"Crap, that sounded like Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he and the others broke out into a sprint. The path in the cave began to narrow in, so much so that they had to run in a single file line because of the lack of space. Just as quickly as the area confined though, it expanded into a large room like area, so big that Naruto couldn't believe it was actually inside of the mountain they were in. In the center of it was a giant form of the blue crystals throughout the cave, providing a prominent source of light for the room. He didn't have time to admire it though, as his hunch that team 7 wasn't the only one present proved to be correct.

"Dosu, Zaku, looks like we've got some company." A girl with long black hair said sitting atop of the large crystal. Dosu, who was leaning against it underneath her, glanced over at the group as the girl hopped down.

"Looks like things won't go as smoothly as I hoped. Kin, help me take care of our unwelcomed guest." Dosu said as he flashed his gauntlet in Naruto's direction. Kin groaned as she grabbed behind her neck and rolled it around, looking at the team passively.

"Man, I wanted a chance to clobber that little pinkette myself, why does Zaku get to have all the fun?" She said as Naruto's eyes widened at those words. Looking around the clearing, he quickly spotted Sakura being held up by her hair by another boy, who was smiling down at her. Raising his fist up, brought it straight down into her face, not letting her fall to the ground however because of his grip on her hair. Naruto's eyes narrowed as Zaku let out a laugh at Sakura's cry in pain.

"You bastards…" he said, closing his fist so hard that blood began to leak from his hand. Ino herself was shaking with anger as well at seeing her, though she would never admit it, best friend being treated in such a way.

"Naruto," she said catching the blonde's attention as he looked over at her. "Go tear his head off."

Nothing else needed to be said as Naruto's eyes flashed red while a grin spreader across his face. In a burst of a speed he quickly ran past Dosu and kin, both of whom shared a look of shock on their face at the display of speed. Before he could even recognize the threat, Naruto thrusted a knee into Zaku's face, sending him flying backwards as he released his grip on Sakura's hair. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground, the girl wincing slightly as she looked up at the boy through one eye. "Naruto? What are you doing here?" She said weakly as Naruto smiled down at her.

"We sensed you guys were in some deep shit and figured you could use some help." He said before frowning as he stared over at where Zaku was lying. "Where the hell are Kiba and Sasuke?"

Sakura pointed over to a wall in the cave where Naruto could see the two lying down. "We were attacked by another one of the genin, though it turned out to be-" Sakura started before stopping abruptly as her eyes glossed over. Naruto gave her a slight shake and she gasped as she seemed to be broken out of whatever trance she was in.

"You okay?" Naruto asked as she nodded her head in response.

"Y-yeah, I guess I'm still just in disbelief. Look, Naruto, this might sound crazy but...the rookie we ran into...it was Orochimaru." Sakura said as Naruto's body tensed at those words.

"O-Orochimaru? Of the Sanin? Are you sure?" He said swallowing a knot in his throat as the girl nodded her head yes. "Well...shit."

"It gets worse," she said as she pushed off of Naruto to kneel on her own. "It seemed like he wanted Sasuke-kun for something. He and Kiba tried to fight him off, but in the end Orochimaru overpowered them. He did something to Sasuke-kun and then just...left."

"What did he do?" Naruto asked before the sound of groaning caught there attention. Over on the other end of the cave, Zaku was finally coming back to as he slowly rose to his feet. "Actually, hold off on that. Go over to where Sasuke and Kiba are, we'll take care of the rest." Sakura nodded and quickly got up to head over to her teammates as Naruto rose back to his feet. Zaku glared over at him as he flexed his hands at his side.

"Performing a snake move like that, how can you call yourself a warrior?" The boy growled while Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not a warrior," he replied as his eyes reverted back to their Kyuubified state at the sight of Zaku. "I'm a shinobi, and I'll be damned if I'm passing up a chance to snake someone."

* * *

 **(Somewhere in Kumogakure)**

"And then I we-" Asuma said before stopping mid sentence. He looked up with a blank look on his face, before a slight grin broke out onto it.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked looking at the man curiously.

"I don't know why, but I get the feeling one of my students is using a page out of my book. And it's really making me proud."

 **(Back in the cave)**

* * *

"Let's see how you like this." Zaku growled as he crouched down low, holding his arms in front of him in the form of an X. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he prepared for whatever his enemy was planning, staring curiously as Zaku pointed his hands in his direction. "Boom."

"What th-" Naruto started before a powerful gust of wind struck him directly. He barely had time to register the pain he was in before it was replaced with a new one as he crashed into the top of the cave, imprinted into the roof.

"Shit, Naruto!" Ino yelled as she moved to help him before Kin jumped into her vision. The black haired Kunoichi sent a kick in her direction, which Ino barely managed to dodge as she jumped backwards to avoid it.

"Where do you think you're going missy, your fight's with me." Kin said smirking down at her. Ino growled as she swiftly pulled out a kunai, holding it out in front of her as Kin slowly approached her. "Look at you, just another clueless little girl more concerned about her looks and boys than her power. I bet if it weren't for those other two weaklings pulling your weight, you wouldn't even have made it this far in the first place."

Ino didn't respond, gripping the kunai in her hand harder as Kin slowly moved into striking distance. A pair of Senbon appeared in the girl's hand as she held them up in front of her face. Without warning Kin quickly flicked them in Ino's direction, who barely had enough time to deflect them before the girl was up on top of her again.

"Too slow!" Ino yelled as her cheeks puffed up. She blew out a purple gas directly in Kin's face as the girl inhaled the substance in shock before jumping away, holding her arm in front of her mouth as she tried to cough out the substance.

"You bitch!" She yelled getting up to her feet and turning to face Ino. "I'll make you pay for that tenfold!" 5 senbon appeared in both of her hands as she held her arms in front of her body in a X formation similar to her other partner. To Ino's surprise, her body began to multiply and spread out into different forms.

"Shadow clones? No, no one but Naruto could possibly make this many clones, and she's still a genin all things considered. Genjutsu?" Ino mumbled to herself as she slowly began to back away. Kin, or rather the entire group of her, smirked in Ino's direction as she found herself backed up against a wall. Swearing, Ino looked around for an exit but found she was completely surrounded by the clones. _'I could try to run for it and hope I pick a way that the real one isn't in, but even then I'll be vulnerable if she turns out to be behind me. Damn it!'_ She thought to herself as she surveyed her options.

"Wanna' know what my favorite animal is?" One of the Kin's said as they all held up their senbons. Ino again choose to stay silent, instead moving her hands behind her back to place them against the wall. "Here's a hint, you're going to look a lot like it in a few seconds."

At once the group of clones launched the senbon at Ino, who seemed to have no where to go. Just as they were released though, Ino suddenly lifted herself up onto the cave's wall in a cartwheel fashion, continuing to do so until she was well out of range of the needles. Jumping from the wall, she landed and broke out into a sprint before Kin could react, coming upon one of the versions of her and hitting her square in the face, launching the girl backwards as the other clones disappeared.

"Ouch, that was definitely the real one alright." Ino said shaking her now bruised hand. Standing up proudly at her handy work, she dusted her hands off and turned around to check in on Shikamaru and Naruto. "I doubt she'll be getting up from that one."

The sound of a ringing bell caught her attention, and she narrowly managed to avoid a senbon thrown in her direction only for one to still hit her from the opposite direction. Swearing, she turned back around to find Kin glaring at her murderously, her broken nose not going unnoticed by the blonde.

"That looks like it hurts, maybe you and your team should just leave before things get worse." Ino said trying to ignore the stinging in her arm. Kim replied by launching another set of senbon in her direction, with Ino once again hearing the distinctive bells ringing and moving to dodge the sound, only to still get hit in the end. "What the fuck! I know I'm dodging these damn things!"

Kin smirked at her outburst as she straightened up a little. "It's time to end this." She said preparing to continue her assault when a figure suddenly came crashing down next to Ino. "Oh for fucks sake, what is it now?!"

"Shika? Are you alright?" Ino said looking down at the boy in surprise. Shikamaru grimaced as he got up holding his head, groaning before focusing on Ino's form.

"No, I'm not alright. I'm actually getting my ass handed to me." He said sarcastically glancing over at Kin. "I'm guessing there's something special about her as well, right?"

"Magical senbon that even when you dodge still manage to hit you." Ino said blankly. "Wait, what's up with the guy and the big metal gauntlet?"

"Besides the big claw?" Shikamaru said dusting himself off. "I don't know how exactly, but it seems like he's using sound waves during his attacks to disorientate people. Speaking of the devil…"

Dosu landed next to Kin, noting her broken nose and giving her a passive look. Kin seemed to get defensive as she turned away from his stare with an undignified look. "What? She caught me off guard." Sighing, Dosu turned his attention back over to Shikamaru and Ino, who were both trying to prepare themselves for what came next.

' _So close, we were so close to having an easy exam.'_ Shikamaru thought just as Dosu came in for another charge.

* * *

 **(Back with Naruto)**

"Ughhhh." Naruto groaned still from his spot at the top of the cave. From how his head was spinning and the pain he was in, he was perfectly fine with staying up there for a little while longer. That is, until he felt the rocks around him starting to give out and his body slowly loosening up. "Ah shit…"

Leaving himself to his fate, he decided to fall freely until he remembered something he had on his personnel. Quickly turning in the air, he yelped out loud as he landed hard on his back. Taking a few moments to catch his breath, he unzipped the upper half of his jacket as the fox from earlier poked his head out.

"Sorry about that little guy, almost squashed you to death. I'm surprised you're alright after that attack, you're a little survivor aren't you?" Naruto said as he took the fox completely out of his jacket. "How about you go over there next to my pink haired friend while I take care of this?" The fox turned his head sideways, staring at Naruto before following his directions and scurrying over to where Sakura and the others were. Naruto managed to pull himself back up to his feet just as Zaku was coming over.

"You Konoha scum are all the same, all bark and no bite." He said folding his arms over his chest smirking over at Naruto. The jinchuuriki returned the smirk, rolling his neck to relieve some muscle stress he was holding.

"Yeah yeah, you got me good there. Still, that won't happen again though." Naruto said jumping back into his fighting stance. For a moment nothing happened, but then Naruto broke out into a sprint toward Zaku, who held his hands up in Naruto's direction.

"You really are stupid to run right towards me." Zaku said as he fired a burst of air out of his two hands. Naruto continued forward just as the blast was coming towards him, and deftly hopped over the turrets of air. Making two clones, both of them grabbed either side of his arms and began to spin in the air before launching him directly towards Zaku, who didn't have enough time to react as Naruto launched another knee directly in his face. Before Zaku could take off, Naruto grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him down into his other knee, using his momentum to smash the boy's head down into the ground. Flipping away, Naruto landed on his feet as he turned to inspect his work.

"How's that for all bark and no bite." Naruto said as Zaku laid motionless in the mini crater Naruto had created with his head. Figuring his fight here was over with, Naruto looked around the cave for his other teammates, spotting them on the opposite end still fighting with the other two. Sparing one last glance at Zaku, Naruto ran over to the other end to give his teammates some help.

He managed to reach them just in time to catch a falling Ino, who looked up at the blonde in shock as he landed the two on the ground safely. "Naruto? Did you take care of that other guy already?" Ino asked as Naruto put her down on the ground. He took note of how her body was covered by senbon in various places, and that her breathing was rather ragged.

"Yeah, he's down for the count alright. Now I'll help you with this one and-"

"No!" Ino yelled making Naruto jump in surprise. "I can handle this myself, you should go and help Shikamaru instead."

"But Ino-chan-" Naruto started before shutting up at the glare she gave him. Sighing, he reluctantly jumped away as Ino turned her attention back to Kin.

"That was a dumb choice." Kin said bluntly. Ino pulled a couple of senbon out of her shoulder, rolling it slightly to try and relieve some of the stiffness she was feeling.

' _Damn it, she's hit so many of my pressure points that it's getting hard to even move because my body is so stiff.'_ Ino thought to herself as she reached into her back pouch. _'The poison from that gas should have kicked in a long time ago. How the hell is she even still standing, she directly inhaled it!'_

Her thoughts were cut short as Kin appeared in front of her, throwing a punch that Ino couldn't even dodge, instead allowing her to strike her in the stomach. Grabbing her arm, she pulled Kin forward and threw a knee into her stomach, pushing the girl behind her to put some distance between them. Skidding to a stop, she took a few moments to calm her breath and focus her thoughts.

' _Ok, what did Shikamaru say? These guys are likely using sound as a way to disorientate and attack us, so how could she be…'_ she thought to herself before the sound of ringing in her left ear caught her attention. Jumping to the right to dodge, she was immediately met with four senbon's being lodged into her shoulder. Yelling in pain, she fell to one knee as she clutched at the wound on her arm.

' _Ok, I KNOW I dodged the senbon she threw, so how the hell am I still getting hit! And what the hell is up with this ringing I keep hearing….'_

Ringing…

"I'm such an idiot…" Ino said to herself pulling the senbon out with a grimace. Tossing them to the side, she looked over to Kin expecting for another attack. Instead, she saw that the girl was simply staring at her while holding the needles in her hand. Her breathing was harsh, and sweat was pouring down the sides of her face profusely.

' _The hell's going on with her? She can't be that exhausted already could she?'_ Ino said glancing down at her hand. ' _Yup, just as I expected, there's bells on certain senbon. She must be using the noise from those to distract me from the other ones she throws.'_ Ino smirked having figured out here game.

"What's wrong? You look a little winded over there." Ino said, Kin jumping slightly at suddenly being addressed.

"I-I'm fine! You're the one who's looking bad out here, any moment now and those joints of yours will be useless." Kin said gearing up for another attack. Ino had other plans however, reaching into her pouch and grabbing a set of kunai.

"Let's see how you like this!" She said launching them in Kin's direction. As soon as they left her hands, she immediately jumped into performing hand signs, running through them as Kin landed and launched the Senbon that were in her hand. As expected Ino heard the ringing in her left ear, but instead of dodging to the right she stood her ground and allowed the single senbon with the bell to hit her. Finishing the hand signs, she brought her hand up to her mouth just as Kin was about to hit the ground.

" **Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"** She yelled spewing the turret of water from her mouth. Kin had no way to dodge as she was still stuck in the air and took the attack head on, flying to opposite end of the cave and crashing into the wall with a huge dust cloud kicking up. The commotion caught the attention of Shikamaru, Naruto and Dosu as they stopped their fighting momentarily to watch the sight.

"When the hell did Ino learn how to do that?!" Naruto yelled while Shikamaru stared on surprised as well. Dosu grunted in annoyance, not liking how this mission was turning out at all.

' _Kin won't be taken down so easily from an attack like that, even if it does look pretty bad. I need to take care of these two quickly though, we still need to kill the Uchiha!'_ Dosu thought before jumping at a still distracted Naruto. _'This boy is the most troublesome of the lot, I'll take him out right now!'_

Dosu closed in on Naruto before he could react, and reached back to stab the boy with a kunai. Shikamaru was well aware of his plans however and intercepted the masked boy, catching him off guard with a roundhouse kick from the side that sent him into the ground. Him and Naruto both jumped away from the boy, Shikamaru clutching at his ankle in pain as they landed.

"Shit, good save Shika, I got distracted there." Naruto said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Shikamaru grunted from his spot on the ground, still rubbing at his ankle. The sound of rubble moving caught their attention as they turned back to where Kin had crashed earlier. The girl pulled herself out of the rubble, stumbling out with her face hidden by her hair. She glared up at Ino, who was leaning down on one knee panting hard.

"You...I'll kill you...with my bare hands…" Kin growled in between breaths as she stumbled over to the girl. Ino herself was still exhausted from the previous attack, and found that she couldn't move her body.

' _Shit, I stood still for to long. The stiffness has set in around my whole damn body now!'_ Ino thought as she tried to move. No matter what she did, she still found she couldn't control any part of her. Kin pulled out a kunai as she was now standing just a few feet away from her.

"I'll...make...you...pay...you…" she said holding up the kunai in front of Ino. For a moment she simply stood there, kunai in the air ready to launch at anytime. Then without any warning, she simply passed out and landed next to Ino, who was still staring forward in fright. She glanced over to see the girl lying next to her, breathing harshly and soaked in her own sweat.

"This must be...the effects from my poison?" Ino said to herself. "That doesn't make any sense, I figured she didn't inhale any of it seeing as it shouldn't have took that long for it to kick in."

"Huh." Naruto said, Shikamaru nodding in agreement at the lost of words. He turned back to where Dosu was, only to find that the boy was missing. "Uh, Shika…"

"Sakura!" Ino yelled catching the two boy's attention as they turned to the girl. Zaku had her held by her arms, while Dosu pointed a kunai at her throat.

"Listen up, I want you to hand over Kin and let us leave this place peacefully, or she can have a nice little hole in her throat." Dosu said drawing a little blood from the girl for added effect. Naruto growled as he inched closer to where they were, stopping when he saw their grip on Sakura had gotten tighter.

"You bastards…" he said trying to think of a way to grab her. He didn't have to think long though as a huge burst of chakra spread throughout the cave and caught the attention of everyone there. Behind Dosu and the others, Sasuke had slowly risen up to his feet, and ominous cloud of dark purple chakra was flowing around him. A series of red marks spread through his body, slowly fading into a dark black color as his eyes opened to reveal the Sharingan. He sights were set clearly on Zaku and Dosu, as he disappeared in blinding speed and appeared behind the two, grabbing them both the head and smashing them into each other. He kicked Dosu away while grabbing onto Zaku and pulling him towards him.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked and before allowing Zaku to answer, punched him directly in the stomach and threw the boy off to the side. He was about to continue towards Dosu when he glanced down at Sakura, noticing her beaten state and the blood coming from her neck. "Sakura, who did that to you?"

The pink haired girl however was trembling in fear from the dark power radiating off of the boy. Strucking so much that she couldn't even speak, which served to irritate Sasuke even more. "No matter, I'll just kill all of them and be done with it."

He started back towards Zaku with plans of finishing the boy off when Dosu grabbed at his arm, trying to stop him from advancing any further.

"No, there's no need for that! We surrender, we'll leave now and never bother you all again!" Dosu exclaimed trying to calm the situation down. Sasuke stared at the hand holding on to him before grabbing it and snapping Dosu's wrist, causing him to fall to the ground in agony.

"Wait your turn." Sasuke said before continuing his descent to Zaku. He picked the unconscious boy up by his neck and held his limp body arms length apart. Smirking, he cocked his fist back with plans of ending it with one strike when another hand grabbed onto to his. Growling he turned his head to see Naruto staring back at him, tightening his grip on Sasuke's wrist.

"Let him go Sasuke, they've already surrendered." He said not flinching under Sasuke's glare.

"Let me go Naruto, unless you want me to put you down as well." Sasuke said dropping Zaku and turning around to face the boy fully. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither moving from their spot as the dark chakra swirling around Sasuke began to become more erratic. Just when it seemed as though Sasuke was about to launch out with an attack, Sakura appeared between the two and held herself up in front of Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun, stop it now! This isn't you!" She said holding her head down trying to hold back the tears going down her face. "You wouldn't ever attack your own friends, snap out of it!"

Naruto looked down at her in shock, before his facial expression softened and he moved to comfort the girl. Sakura however moved over to hug Sasuke, who took up a shock looked of his own as the girl embraced him harder. He grimaced as he closed his eyes and grabbed at his head, the markings on his body receding back into the black mark on his neck. The two collapsed into their knees on the ground, Sakura still embracing the now exhausted Sasuke who simply stared forward with a spaced out look in his eyes.

"S-Sakura, I'm…" he said before passing out again. Naruto watched the sight silently as Ino and Shikamaru came up to stand next to them. Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru noticed that Dosu had rounded up his teammates and was trying to escape.

"Hey, hold up." Shikamaru said getting the boy to stop with his two teammates in his arm. "I know you all have a beacon, I want you to leave it here with us."

Dosu stiffened at those words, wondering how he was able to figure out they had found a beacon. He contemplated running away, but figured he wouldn't be able to get far while carrying his two teammates with him. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and through the beacon on to the ground. With one final look at Sasuke, Dosu cursed their luck and ran for the exit of the cave, leaving the others to sort things out.

Walking over and grabbing the beacon, Shikamaru brought it over and threw it next to Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura looked down at it before her eyes widened in recognition of what it was as she looked back up at the group.

"Take it, you guys need to get out of the exam and get checked out badly. Especially if what Naruto told me was true and that Orochimaru was involved in this." Shikamaru said as Sakura picked up the beacon. "You need to tell someone about what happened. ASAP."

"B-but we can't take this, I-I mean you guys should be the one-" she started but was interrupted when Naruto took out their beacon from earlier and flashed it to her.

"See, we're already covered. So go ahead and take it." Shikamaru said turning for the exit. Ino gave Sasuke and Sakura one last worried glance before turning to leave as well, with Naruto following.

"Naruto, wait!"

Stopping, he turned to see Sakura looking up at him, a tentative smile on her face. "I just wanted to say...thanks for saving me. I guess I really owe you one." She said giving him one last smile before turning her attention back to Sasuke, who had falling back asleep and was currently laying in her lap. Naruto nodded, turning to continue on with his team, making his way through the cave to meet them at the entrance.

"It's already dark out, I think it would be a bad idea to try to gun it towards the end. We're not exactly in the best state right now anyways." Shikamaru said from the ground holding on to his ankle. Ino was leaning on his shoulder, drifting in and out of conscious as she tried to stay awake.

"Yeah, lets at least get away from this cave though and find somewhere else to rest at. You good to walk Shika?" He asked walking over towards them. Shikamaru nodded as he finished wrapping his ankle and got up to his feet, Naruto picking up Ino and hoisting her up on his back. The trio began to descent lower into the valley, hoping that there would be somewhere to rest when they got to the bottom. When they reached it, the terrain began to take on a more forestry decoration. They found another cave that was hidden behind a waterfall, and decided to camp out there for the night.

"I'm guessing I'm taking first watch?" Naruto said after everything was set up and Shikamaru was already sound asleep.

"Sorry about that, but I'm exhausted too. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this exam, but it certainly wasn't that. I mean, Orochimaru of all people? This can't be real." Ino said getting into her sleeping bag. Naruto nodded in agreement before making his way to the entrance by the waterfall. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?" He said turning to face Ino. "What is it?"

"You still like Sakura, don't you?" She asked bluntly staring up at the roof of the cave. Naruto froze slightly as the question caught him off guard and he wasn't really sure how to respond.

"Uhhh, what?" He said. "W-what are you talking about Ino-chan?"

"Mmmm your reaction says it all you know." Ino said smiling from her position. Her face grew more serious as Naruto continued to stumble over his words in the background. "Do you really think you can take her away from Sasuke?"

"Huh?" The boy said as he stopped his rambling to look over at her. "Did you say something?"

"Nope, nothing at all." Ino said putting back on the smile she had earlier. "Don't you have a cave entrance to watch?"

"Uh, yeah, right!" Naruto said eager to get away from that conversation. "I think I'll watch from the outside, yeah?"

With that, Naruto made his way out of the cave, leaving Ino alone with her thoughts. She laid in silence for a moment before looking over to Shikamaru's sleeping form.

"Shika, were you awake for any of that?"

Her question was met with steady snores.

"Figures." She said turning back over. _'Jeez Ino, what's going on with you? You really need to get yourself together, I mean what even was that.'_

Sighing, she closed her eyes and decided to get herself some well deserved rest.

* * *

 **(Two hours later)**

Despite it being sometime in the early hours of the morning, Naruto found himself wide awake as he stared up at the moon from his position on top of a rock embedded in the waterfall. The fox, which he had yet to give an actual name, was curled up in his lap as he mulled over the events that had just transpired.

' _What the hell is Orochimaru doing in Kumogakure, let alone interfering with the Chunin exams of all things? And what the hell did he do to Sasuke, that chakra he was giving off felt almost as bad as…'_ Naruto thought before something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Making no indication that he had actually saw something, Naruto sat up a little straighter as he tried to see what it was. Peering into the tree's, he searched for any signs of movement while simultaneously trying to feel for anything.

"Maybe i'm just imagining things…" He mumbled as he started to relax again. Suddenly, a black crow shot out from the top of one of the tree's, causing Naruto to jump in confusion as his eyes darted towards it. The crow seemed to just be simply circling around in the air above Naruto, which still made him feel slightly uneasy as now both he and his little companion were on high alert.

"Do crows usually do that little buddy?" Naruto whispered, the small fox trying its best attempt at a growl in response. Getting up to his feet, Naruto stared up at the crow harder before the sound rustling brought his attention back to the treeline. At first he once again didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But then he saw it. Something that was definitely not normal.

A red eye was staring right back at him.

As quickly as he noticed it, the eye disappeared, leaving Naruto to wonder if there was anything there to start with. He was broken out of his stupor however by the fox hopping off of his shoulder and bounding down the waterfall, eventually disappearing behind the trees that he saw the figure at.

"Hey! Where the hell are you going, get back here!" He half yelled, half whispered as he watched the animal continue on. Cursing his luck, he jumped down from the rock and landed on the ground below, sparing a glance back at the waterfall entrance before taking off into the tree's as well. He made a clone before he left to continue watching over Ino and Shikamaru while he tried to see what was up.

Making his way around the trees, he found that they were slowly becoming fewer and farther between as the terrain began to revert back to the more rocky influence that Kumogakure was known for. Dropping to the ground, he slowly walked past the the last of the trees as he found himself overlooking an area leading to a cliff. At the edge of this cliff stood a man, his body covered completely in a cloak covered in red clouds. Resting on his shoulder was the fox, whom the man was petting absentmindedly. Swallowing a knot in his throat, Naruto slowly inched closer out into the open, stopping a good distance away from the man. At first Naruto wondered if he had even been noticed, but that thought was revoked as the man started to address him.

"Seems birds of a feather truly do flock together." The man said not turning around. Naruto froze at the sound of his voice breaking the silence, for some reason feeling awfully intimidated by the person in front of him. Steeling his resolve, he cleared his throat as he tried to find the words to say.

"Um, who are you?" He said grimacing at how much lamer that ended up coming out than he expected. His question was met with silence for the most part, until after what felt like an eternity the man slowly began to turn around. Naruto's eyes widened as he almost instantly recognized the person in front of him. "Oh fuck me…"

"Seems you remember who I am, consider me impressed." The man said looking down at the boy while still petting the fox. His red eyes peered down into the cerulean blue ones as Naruto ignorantly stared the man down.

"Who the hell wouldn't know who you are, you're one of the most infamous people in the Shinobi world, especially Konoha." Naruto said backing up slowly. "Itachi Uchiha, just my luck."

Standing completely still, Naruto continued to eye Itachi as he tried to consider his next course of action. Figuring he'd test the waters, he made the ever so slightest movement to indicate he was thinking of taking off. Immediately he noticed Itachi's eyes narrow and, though to the untrained eye he hadn't changed a bit, Naruto could tell his muscles had tensed up just enough to show he was ready to go after the boy. Sighing, Naruto surrendered to his fate as he stood his ground against the Uchiha.

"Smart choice." Itachi said confirming Naruto's suspicions that Itachi knew he was trying to run off. "Don't worry, as of now I only wish to...converse with you Naruto-kun."

"You actually remember who I am? Trust me, that's the bigger shocker here." Naruto said slightly taken back that someone of Itachi's caliber went out the way to remember him. Itachi turned back around towards the cliff to continue looking at the moon before answering, which irked Naruto slightly as the person in front of him clearly didn't see him as being a threat.

"You're more known throughout the Shinobi world than you might think Naruto-kun. After all, you do know what you carry inside of you right?" Itachi said getting the boy to narrow his eyes.

"Actually I was more so under the impression that it wasn't common knowledge, at least that's what the old man told me." Naruto replied.

"You must mean Lord Third," Itachi said turning back to face him. "Well, he's right. Your status as a Jinchuuriki isn't known widely, but those who have a need for information will always find a way to get it. You'd do well to remember that in this world we live in."

"Noted," Naruto said eyeing him wearily. "So what exactly do you want with me?"

Itachi was quiet for a moment as he seemed to be thinking over his next words. After a moment however, he simply closed his eyes and released his hold over the fox, who instantly jumped out of whatever trance it was previously in and hurriedly hopped over to where Naruto was. Catching the fox in his hands, Naruto stared back up at Itachi curiously as he made his way up to the edge of the cliff.

"Actually, simply meeting you has been more than enough for what I was hoping to learn today Naruto-kun," He said stopping at the edge and looking back at him. "Your completely different from what we were expecting, whether thats a good thing or not is yet to be determined."

"What are you even...who is this we you're talking about?" Naruto said becoming more confused by the minute. No matter what was said, he simply couldn't get a read on what was going through the man's mind. What even was the point of this conversation to begin with?

"Tell me Naruto-kun, how is my little brother doing?" Itachi said, his eyes becoming icy at the mention of his brother. Naruto shuddered unwillingly under the stare as he backed up again slightly.

"S-Sasuke? Why do you-well I mean he's fine I guess? " Naruto replied. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down so he could keep answering whatever Itachi asked of him, figuring it was one of the only reasons he was still alive right now. "He's not dead yet so I guess that's a plus."

' _Damn it Naruto, not the time for your witty comments!'_ He thought in his head as he looked up to see Itachi's reaction. If the older man found it humorous or not he couldn't tell as his face hadn't changed throughout this entire interaction. _'Wait, he's not here too… ahh fuck me! But if he is, I at least have to try…'_

"Y-you're," He started off, taking another deep breath to calm himself down and not stutter. "You're not here to try to finish Sasuke off are you? Working with Orochimaru?"

For the first time throughout this entire ordeal Itachi showed a single sign of emotion. His eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Orochimaru before narrowing as his disappeared from his spot atop the cliff. He reappeared in front of Naruto, Snatching the boy up by his throat and holding him up off of the ground, staring into his eyes as his Sharingan spun wildly.

"Orochimaru is here, in Kumogakure?" Itachi asked, his monotone voice breaking character if only for a moment. Naruto nodded as he struggled under the man's grip around his neck. "And you're saying he had a run in with my little brother?"

Seeing as Naruto couldn't talk while being choked out, Itachi unceremoniously dropped him to the ground as the boy coughed and tried to recover his breath.

"If Orochimaru is here and he's made contact with Sasuke, then that means…" Itachi mumbled to himself before turning back to the boy still on the ground.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, it appears I'll have to cut our conversation short." He said grabbing the boy by his jaw and forcing him to look into his eyes. "I'll leave you with a parting gift, though I doubt you'll be fond of what it is. The next time we meet likely won't be on such pleasant terms, and for that I do apologize."

With that, Itachi flashed his Mangekyo Sharingan and knocked the boy unconscious, leaving him with a final set of parting words as Naruto slowly drifted away.

"Oh, and Naruto-kun. I'd prefer if you keep this little meeting of ours a private matter. I'd hate to have to take your life if isn't necessary."

After those words the Uchiha simply vanished into a flock of crows, with Naruto watching them fly off as he slowly lost consciousness.

Though in actuality it would only be three hours, Naruto would awaken having experienced the tragedies Itachi saw from Third shinobi war a hundred times over.

* * *

Itachi ran throughout the night air, hastily making his way back to the cave where his partner Kisame waited. Landing at the entrance, he peered inside to see Kisame roasting something atop of a poorly made fire pit. The shark like man perked up when he saw Itachi's face, holding a stick with a grilled lizard up as he smiled at him.

"Itachi, look, I found these little buggers hanging out in the back of the cave! Aren't I great?" He said grinning down at the cooking animals. Itachi sighed as he made his way into the cave, taking a seat next to firepit across from his partner.

"It looks as though Orochimaru has slithered his way here into Kumogakure." Itachi said looking over at Kisame. He took a bite out of the one of the lizards, taking a moment to savor the taste before replying back.

"Orochimaru, eh? Man, that fucker sure does get around huh? None of our business though." Kisame said taking another bite from the his meal. Itachi looked up at him, and though every fiber in his body was telling him not to press the issue, he couldn't help but doing so.

"Kisame, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Huh? Well I mean we don't really give a damn what that man does do we? As long as he doesn't get involved with our plans I suppose."

"...Orochimaru was apart of Akatsuki. We're supposed to kill him and gather his ring that he never gave back, remember?"

"Orochimaru was apart of Akatsuki? Where the hell was I at when this happened?"

"...You were there as well."

"Oh. Well you learn something new everyday right?"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a deep sigh at the idiocy his partner showed sometimes...most of the time. Kisame snickered as he grab a stick with a finished lizard on it and held it out to Itachi.

"You know, everytime you sigh those lines on your face get a little bit longer." He said. Itachi looked up at him blankly before shaking his head and grabbing the stick form the man. He took a bite, and though he wouldn't admit it outloud, it was actually pretty good. "So what's the plan? Are we going to go after Orochimaru or what?"

"No," Itachi said placing the now bare stick down on the ground. "I'm actually interested in what his game is, coming here to Kumogakure. Though I'm already certain of what one of his goals was, I find it hard to believe he would risk all of this trouble just to get that."

"And what exactly is this 'that' you're speaking of?" Kisame asked furrowing his eyebrow.

"He's after the Sharingan." Itachi said plainly grabbing another stick of roasted lizard. Kisame stared at the man quizzically as he tried to figure out how exactly Orochimaru could get the Sharingan by coming to Kumogakure when it finally clicked for him.

"Little brother, eh?" Kisame said smirking over at him. "Maybe you should go and pay him a visit, who knows what Orochimaru has done to him."

"He is of no concern of mine, especially if he was weak enough to allow the likes of Orochimaru to have his way with him." Itachi emotionlessly, closing his eyes as he tried to focus on the taste of the food in front of him.

"Man, you are cold Itachi." Kisame said shaking his head. "So I guess we're back to our original plan then, watching over the Jinchuuriki's participating in this year's exams?"

"Percisely," Itachi said leaning back against the cave wall. "There's one in particular who's already proven to be different than our initial reports, he's caught my attention."

"So that's what you were out doing, a little scouting of your own?" Kisame said preparing to take first watch. "Well if someone managed to catch your attention there must be something pretty extraordinary about them."

Itachi said nothing, having already drifted himself off to sleep. Kisame chuckled as he made his way to the entrance of the cave, taking a seat as he looked out over the mountain ranges.

"That Itachi, I tell you…"

* * *

Naruto jumped awake with a shout, looking around frantically for any sign of Itachi. After a few moments however he realized that he was no longer in the forest, but inside the blue, Metallic hallway that he experienced the last time he fell into his own mindscape. Reaching up to grab his face, as if to confirm he was really himself, he was startled by the feeling of wetness. It was then that figured he had been crying, likely a result of the things he was forced to experience under Itachi's genjutsu.

' _Was that-no, it couldn't be. There's no way that that was actually real. He was just trying to mess with my head, t-that's gotta' be it.'_ Naruto thought trying to bring some closure to himself. Shakily getting up to his feet, he used the wall as a crunch as he followed the numerous glowing red lines on the walls and ceilings down the hall.

Eventually he found himself once again standing in front of the giant metal bars that led up into complete nothingness. Behind those bars laid the Kyuubi, sleeping in all its glory as Naruto made his way up to him. He took a seat just outside of the bars, staring down emptily at his hands as became lost in his own thoughts. The Kyuubi opened a single eye to glance down at the boy, noticing how he wasn't paying the beast any attention at all.

It irked him slightly.

" **I see you've finally awakened from the genjutsu placed on you by the Uchiha,"** The Kyuubi said opening both eyes and lifting his head up slightly. **"It wasn't easy, but I managed to prevent him from destroying your tiny mind too much, though it looks like his point still got across."**

Naruto continued to look down at his hands blankly, and would probably be blocking the Kyuubi out right now if his voice didn't reverb so heavily throughout the entire room. He finally looked back up directly at his tenant, his eyes full of uncertainty and doubt.

"Those...things, experiences that Itachi showed me, they weren't real right? There's no way he actually experienced those things right?" Naruto asked looking for anything to ease his mind. The Kyuubi didn't answer right away, instead closing his eyes and putting his head back into his arms.

" **I stayed out of mortal affairs as much as I possibly could, and outright ignored them more often than not."** The Kyuubi said finally, voice nothing more than a low rumble. **"However, from my experiences, they are the most vile creatures to inhabit this earth by far. The things mortals do to fulfill their selfish desires knows no bounds, and their concept of 'war' shows that."**

Though he didn't answer the question directly, Naruto got the gist of what he was saying. Laughing bitterly, Naruto flexed his hand out before closing it into a tight fist.

"Being forced to experience something like that at that age, no wonder he flipped out and murdered his whole clan huh?" Naruto said standing up. "This shinobi world is really fucked isn't it?"

The Kyuubi didn't answer, instead watching the blonde curiously as he moved to the center of the room and looked upwards into the dark void above him.

"Things like that...that can't happen. It shouldn't happen. Someone needs to change something." Naruto continued, stopping as he reached the center. Looking back over at the Kyuubi, he held his fist out towards it before slowly bringing back, pointing to himself in the chest with his thumb.

"Maybe that someone's gonna' be me."

With that, the boy vanished from the mindscape. The Kyuubi stared at where he was standing for a little while longer before closing his eyes again and turning to face away from the bars that held him imprisoned.

" **Foolish, but interesting nonetheless."**

* * *

"Damn it Naruto wake the hell up!"

Naruto slowly opened his eye up to stare into another set of blue ones. Instantly he was pulled up into a tight hug as Ino, almost literally, squeezed the life out of him. Almost as quickly, he was pushed away by her and met with a hard smack to the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing running off without us you idiot?! If little Foxy-kun didn't come and get us who the hell knows what could've happened to you!" She yelled as Shikamaru sighed and took a seat next to them.

"You really are the most troublesome person I've met in my life." He said before looking over at the blonde seriously. "What the hell were you doing out here anyways?"

Naruto mulled over whether or not he should tell them the truth about what had happened over the night. In the end though, he remembered Itachi's words and figured it would be better to keep the encounter to himself. He didn't know how Itachi would figure out if he blabbed, but as of now he didn't put anything past him.

"I...thought I sensed someone out here so I came to check it out. I think of might of been placed under a genjutsu or something and feel asleep." Naruto lied rubbing the back of his head.

"Why would someone place you under a genjutsu just to leave you out here in the end?" Ino said suspiciously grabbing her chin in thought. "I guess they could've figured that it wouldn't be worth the hassle seeing as you didn't have a scroll, but still it's weird…"

"These entire exams have been nothing but weird, do you really find it that hard to believe?" Naruto asked trying to move the conversation away from that topic. "Either way, I'm fine aren't are? So what else is there to even talk about?"

"A lot actually, especially on your end." Shikamaru said narrowing his eyes and standing back up. "Sadly we don't have the time to discuss those things right now. Day lights starting to break, which means it's time for us to make our way out of this exam."

"Why so early?" Ino asked standing up alongside Naruto. Shikamaru had made his way to the edge of the cliff and was surveying the area.

"Remember how I said there would be some teams who would just wait at the exit for someone to come around with a beacon, just to steal it?" Shikamaru said looking back. "Hopefully we can bypass all that and sneak our way through, banking on the fact the everyone might be asleep right now."

"Well then let's go ahead and get this little excursion over with." Naruto said standing at the edge as well. Ino joined them, and they all peered down over the edge into the lake underneath them.

"Do we have too?" Ino asked looking up at her two teammates, rather put off by the idea of jumping into the water. It was then that Naruto's head perked up, and he stared behind back in the direction of the cave they rested in last night.

"Uh, actually, yeah we do." Naruto said putting the fox inside his jacket and grabbing onto Shikamaru and Ino's hand. "We need to move. Now."

"What are you tal-AGH!" Ino said before without warning Naruto jumped off the edge of the cliff, pulling them with him. For his credit, Shikamaru seemed rather composed as they fell to what could have been to their death, simply closing his eyes and waiting for the impact. Ino on the other hand was the complete opposite.

"I SWEAR IF WE MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ALIVE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NARUTO!"

Her screaming was cut short as they finally made impact with the water beneath them. Luckily enough, the water did turn out to be deeper than it appeared from above, giving the team plenty of room to submerge in and cushioning their fall, though it did still hurt. Shikamaru was the first to resurface, pulling himself back up onto dry land followed by Naruto, who was dragging Ino. As soon as they caught their breath, Ino began to go into a tirade.

"I swear, you've done a lot of dumb things in your life Naruto Uzumaki, but that one might have taken the cake! We could've died Naruto, died! Just because we're shinobi doesn't mean we're invincible!" She said jumping around in her rage. She stopped however when she noticed both Naruto and Shikamaru were looking away with blushes on their faces. "What?!"

"W-well um," Naruto said glancing her before looking away again. "It's just that, well...your clothes are wet and…"

Piecing two and two together, Ino let out a small 'eep!' before dropping to the ground cross legged, covering up her budding chest with a blush on her face as well.

"Why me, why me, why me…"She mumbled to herself as Naruto and Shikamaru stood up.

"Here, you can wear my jacket. It's not dry but it'll cover you up at least." Naruto said holding it out. Ino took out reluctantly, grumbling out a small thank you as she put it on.

"Thank the heavens me and Sakura got you out of that hideous orange jumpsuit or I'd be looking like an idiot right now." Ino grumbled.

"I take offense to that, that orange jumpsuit was legendary I'll have you know it." Naruto said mock glaring at her. "Anyways, we're not out of the clear yet. We should really get the hell away from this area."

"Why, what's out here." Ino asked getting a little worried seeing as there was something that was actually scaring Naruto.

"Something we don't want to have any problems with before we absolutely have to." Naruto said looking back up at the cliff. Grunting he motioned for Shikamaru and Ino to follow him as they began to make their way area where they turned in the beacons. By now the sun was rising in full effect, and they were hauling ass in order to keep Shikamaru's plan in action.

"Think those teams are still asleep Shika?" Ino asked looking over at the boy.

"Nope, but if we're lucky, something amazing will happen and everything will work out just fine."

That's the spirit!" Naruto said grinning back at the boy. Ino shook her head as obviously the sarcasm dripping in Shikamaru's voice had went unnoticed by the knucklehead. "We should be pretty close to the rendezvous point right?"

"Any moment now." Shikamaru said squinting his eyes as he searched for any sign of the building. Maybe, just maybe things would workout after all…

"So what do you gu- OOF!"

' _DAMN IT NARUTO!'_

Shikamaru skidded to a stop as Naruto and an unknown figure collided in mid air, both of them dropping to the ground. Naruto groaned as he pulled himself up off of his back, holding his head as he looked over at what he collided with.

"Hey," He said eyes widening as he recognized who she was. "You're the green haired girl!"

Said girl looked up at him while holding her head as well, looking rather irritated that she was being referred to as the 'green haired girl'.

"My name is Fu, not the 'green haired girl'." she said getting up to her feet. She glanced towards the ground and noticed that a beacon was laying there, and that Naruto's eyes were on it as well. She immediately scooped it up and jumped backwards, putting some distance between herself and team 10 as she glared in their direction.

"Hey hey, relax, we're not after you're beacon. We've already got one of our own." Naruto said holding his hands up in a defensive stance. Her two teammates happened to hop down at that moment, Aito glaring at Team 10 as well while Kaito gave them the same smug grin he did earlier.

"Hey, you're the team that was in the room with us that one time." He said scratching at his head. Unlike his head red head brother, he seemed completely unbothered by Naruto and the others presence.

"Yeah…" Shikamaru said staring at him wearily. Something about him just gave off weird vibes, the same could be said about his brother. "So, seeing as we both have beacons, how about we just head back to the meetup spot?"

"I don't know, if we take you guys out now that's one less team for us to deal with later on. What do you say Fu?" Kaito said turning to the girl. Once again Fuu stared at Naruto passively, who started squirm a little under her bored and emotionless eyes.

"Aito, Kaito, we're leaving." She said closing her eyes and turning to leave, similar to the way she did the other day. Aito followed after her silently while Kaito was once again left to complain all by himself.

"Aw come on! Jeez, you're such a killjoy you know that? I swear this next part of the exam better filled with action or i'm gonna' kill myself from boredom…" He said following after the two. Naruto and co waited until they were completely out of sight before making moves of their own.

"You know, I'm really ready to go home now." Shikamaru said as they continued on.

For once, Naruto was actually ready to agree with him on that front.

* * *

Finally making their way into the building they were supposed to go to at the end of the exams, the team let out a collective sigh as they crossed the doors and were officially safe from any other trouble. Standing near a front desk talking to another shinobi was Yugito, who smiled when she caught notice of the group.

"Welcome back! Looks like you're the third team to make it in so far, man we've got a talented bunch this year. Three teams only one day into the exam, that's pretty impressive." She said taking their beacon and examining it before passing it off to the Shinobi at the front desk. "Welp, you guys should go ahead and get some rest, you've earned it. You'll be staying here until the end of this exam, so feel free to use the facilities as much as you like."

"Great, where's our room? I'm going to take a nap." Shikamaru said taking the key from the women and heading off to the room. Ino stretched and let out a yawn before turning over to Naruto.

"I think I'll go and take a shower, what are you gonna' do Whiskers?" She asked as the boy rubbed his head in thought.

"I don't know, guess I'll go grab a bite to eat." Naruto said making up his mind. Ino nodded as she headed off to find the showers, Naruto making his way over to the cafeteria. As he was walking though, he began to feel a dull aching in his head as he clutched at it, groaning as it seemed to get worse.

Suddenly, his vision became blurry, and before his very eyes the inside of the building transformed from into a battlefield. Battlefield that was littered with dead bodies. All around him Naruto could hear the screams and sounds of battle, while the injured moaned and screamed out for help. He felt something reach for his leg, looking down only to see a severed arm laying next to him. Then, just as quickly as the vision came to him, it vanished, leaving Naruto standing in the middle of the hallway wide eyed with sweat pooling down his face.

"Uzumaki-san?"

Jumping, Naruto turned around to stare at Yugito, who was looking over at him worriedly. "Is everything ok?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just need some rest is all." Naruto said shakily deciding to forgo the cafeteria and head straight for his room. On his way though, he bumped into Fuu once again as she was exiting her own room. Judging by the change of clothes she had with her, he figured she was on her way to the showers. Again, as soon as the two made eye contact, Fuu simply stared at him with a passive look. This time however, Naruto let his emotions get the best out of him as he growled in her direction.

"Jeez, what the hell are you always looking at me like that for?" Naruto said harshly. Fuu simply narrowed her eyes at him, closing them after a moment and silently walking past him. Naruto watched her leave, guilt starting to set in after he realized he was in the wrong for that little exchange. Sighing, he decide to run after her make things right.

"Fuu, wait!" He said catching her attention as the girl silently turned around to glare at him. "Look, um, I-I'm sorry about that. I'm just a little tired, that's all, but still I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. Are we...good?"

Fuu didn't say anything, instead just glaring at the boy until he finished. Then, her face went from angry to its original passive state before finally, shocking Naruto completely.

She smiled at him.

It was the smallest, barely classifiable form of a smile that you could give, but a smile nonetheless. With that, she turned and continued towards the showers, leaving Naruto to stand in the hallway dumbfounded. Scratching his head, Naruto turned and headed into his own room, immediately met with the sounds of snoring by a passed out Shikamaru.

' _He's got the right idea.'_ Naruto thought throwing off his shirt and collapsing into his bed. Turning to face the ceiling, Naruto relayed everything that had happened over the course of these exams in his head again before closing his eyes and putting his hands behind his head.

"You know, I am a pretty troublesome person now that I think about it."

"Amen to that…"

* * *

 **DONE. Man, I had the worse case of writer's block making this chapter like a quarter way into it, I thought I'd never finish it. Took a new Kendrick Lamar album for me to break out of my funk, but finally here we are. I could almost cry. No seriously, writer's block is no joke, I see why authors talk about it a lot.**

 **I revised this chapter a lot to try and improve moments I was half assing it and forcing things. Luckily enough I got out of my funk for the more important parts to the story. Up next, we've got the tournament, which I'm really looking forward to because it's a chance to really focus on writing battle scenes, which I'm still feeling kind of iffy about. I feel like I'm rambling now just because I'm happy to have finally finished this thing, so I'm gonna' sign out now. is acting up again, so I'll do the line breaks when we're good.**


	13. The Legendary Toad Sage

**Chapter 13: The Legendary Toad Sage**

* * *

The sound of shuffling stirred Naruto out of his slumber as he cracked open one eye to see what the commotion was. On the other end of the room was Shikamaru, who was currently strapping on his sandals over the foot still covered in bandages for his twisted ankle. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Naruto let out a loud yawn as he stretched his way out of bed. As he finished, he notice that Shikamaru was silently telling him to be quiet.

The boy pointed over to the other end of the room, where on another bed Ino was still resting sound asleep. Naruto wondered what exactly was the big deal when he remembered that they all had to share this room, meaning Shikamaru had likely changed while she was still in here. Not wanting to feel the wrath of the girl if she caught them doing so while she was in the room, sleep or not, Naruto opted to silently put on his clothes as well, closing the door softly on his way out as he met up with his teammate in the hallway outside.

"Morning Shika, I'm surprised you were the first one to get up." Naruto said stretching again as the two made their way into the eating hall. Today was officially the third day of the exam, and still only three teams were present at the time.

Once again, the trio of siblings from Suna were the first team to make it on the very first day of the exam. Team 10 had came in early into the second day, along with Team Fu. Other than that, there hadn't been any word from any other teams participating.

"You know, I'm still kind of worried about Sakura-chan and the others." Naruto said frowning as he sat down with his food. "I mean, seeing as they're still out there, that means their beacon is going off as well and other teams are tracking them. You think they're in good enough a condition to fight back?"

"I don't know. I honestly expected, or rather hoped, that they would follow suit after us and try to make it here by the next day. They must have been in worse shape than we thought if they had to hold off." Shikamaru said playing with what was on his plate. After a few moments of silence, he sighed before placing both of his hands on the table hard enough to catch Naruto's attention.

"Uhhh, are you alright man?" Naruto said looking up at the boy awkwardly. Shikamaru was looking down, his eyes closed as if he was contemplating something, before he sighed again and looked up at Naruto with a serious look.

"Listen, I'm going to ask you something right now and I want you to promise me you'll answer it honestly. Okay?" He said getting another quizzical look from Naruto.

"Alright, sure, go ahead." Naruto said taking a sip from the water bottle he had in his hand. Shikamaru leaned backwards on the bench they were sitting on slightly, rolling his neck around before asking.

"Is the Kyuubi sealed inside of you?"

Instantly Naruto spewed the water out of his mouth that he was drinking, coughing up a storm as Shikamaru sat across from him completely soaked. Finally getting himself together, Naruto started to fumble over his words as he tried to come up with an excuse. Settling down after a few moments, Naruto took a deep breath before looking up at Shikamaru seriously.

"Who told you?"

Shikamaru flinched slightly at the sudden change in tone of his voice. Adjusting his spot in his seat, Shikamaru leaned forward a little so his voice could be nothing more than a whisper.

"Asuma-sensei came to me about it not long after we got back from the wave. I'd had my suspicions about it before then though, remember I was in that sphere with you when you...lost control for the first time I guess." Shikamaru said as Naruto let out sigh and threw his hands over his face. "I meant to confront you about it earlier but the timing never seemed right."

"Well when is there ever a time to discuss basically having a demon sealed inside of you." Naruto said with a sarcastic smile. "Still, you seem to be taking the news pretty well. Not gonna' run away from me or anything?"

"Please, you're still the same troublesome blonde that I've known all these years, only now you're a little more dangerous." Shikamaru said matching his smile. "So...what's it like?"

"Excuse me?" Naruto said not exactly getting what Shikamaru was asking of him.

"Well, I mean, what's it like having something like...that inside of you?" Shikamaru said trying to find the right words for what he was asking. Naruto rolled his neck around as he tried to find a way to describe his situation.

"Honestly, I don't really know what to tell you. I mean, it's been there all of my life, even if I didn't know it, so I can't really say if it's different from being normal or not." Naruto said grabbing his hair in thought. "I guess it could explain the massive amount of stamina I have…"

"Chakra too." Shikamaru nodded thinking as well. "Who knows what else you've got that you just don't know about yet."

"Yeah, well, I can say one thing for sure. Kyuubi's an ass, I can barely hold a conversation with the guy without him trying to bite my head off. Wait, is it a guy? Huh, guess I should've asked." Naruto said looking up in fake concentration. Him and Shikamaru shared a laugh at the situation, settling down after a few moments.

"So...when do you plan on telling Ino?" Shikamaru asked reverting back to the serious mode. Naruto sighed as he laid out over the table, staring across the room at nothing in particular.

"I would love to tell her now and get it out of the way. But still I just don't know how…" He said trailing off. Closing his eyes, he turned to hide his face inside of his arms, letting out a long sigh while Shikamaru waited patiently for his answer. "To be honest with you, I'm scared of how she'll react."

"You think Ino would think differently of you? Really?" Shikamaru said frowning down at the boy. He would like to think Ino was a bit more understanding than that.

"I don't know, I mean from what I see basically all of the village see's me as being something short of a monster, and I'm talking adults here." Naruto said sitting back up. "I don't exactly have a trusty track record with this thing you know."

"Still, Ino has known you since we were little kids. She knows the real you Naruto, not like those villagers who only see you on the street."

"The real me huh." Naruto snorted underneath his breath. Sighing for what seemed like the a millionth time today, Naruto was about to respond when the sound of commotion caught both of their attention. Getting up and making their way over to the entrance, they could see Yugito barking out orders as a stretcher was rolling down the hall. Managing to get a fleeting glance, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw who exactly was occupying the thing.

It was Hinata, and she wasn't in good shape.

"What the hell happened to her?" Shikamaru said as he too managed to catch a small look at the girl as they rushed her down the hallway. Naruto eyes narrowed at the sight, and turned back towards the entrance only to see Choji and Shino trying to fight their way past the guards.

"What do you mean we can't be there with her, we're her teammates for crying out loud!" Choji said getting angrier by the minute.

"Look, in the condition she's in the medical staff will need to focus as much as they can in order to keep her stable. I understand how you feel, but right now it's in your best interest to just wait things out. You should get yourselves checked out in the meantime." Yugito said seriously before turning to head down the hall as well. Choji cursed as he threw his fist against a wall, Shino grabbing at his hair in frustration.

"Was Hinata really in that bad of a condition?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto was silent as he stared down the hall that she had disappeared into. He finally spoke up after a few seconds had passed.

"I could barely sense anything coming from her, it was almost as if she was…" He said trailing off as the thought that had entered his head sickened him. Putting the pieces together, Shikamaru sighed as he decided to go and calm his best friend down. Naruto on the other hand went directly to Shino, hoping to get some answers.

"Hey Shino," Naruto said walking up to the boy. "Feel like feeling us in on what happened out there?"

The boy silently leaned up against the wall, placing his hands inside his jacket pockets as he stared down at the ground for a moment.

"We were making our way towards one of the beacons, not knowing that it was already in possession of another team." Shino said pausing for a second as he seemed to collect his thoughts. For the first time throughout this entire interaction, he looked up at Naruto, who could feel how serious his friend was at the moment. "It was Team Gai."

"Team Gai? You mean the one with Tenten-chan and the guy with the weird eyebrows? And that other one, he's a hyuuga like Hinata-chan is right?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes in confusion.

"Yes, upon contact with them as you would expect a battle ensured. Me and Choji-san were separated from Hinata-san as things went on, almost as if by design." Shino said hiding the bottom half of his face under his jacket. "Hinata-san was left alone with the other Hyuuga, her cousin Neji."

"Neji? Wait, they're actually cousins?" Naruto asked frowning at that bit of information. His eyes widened however as he began to put things together. "No way, you're not telling me her own cousin put her in that state right?"

"While I had my hands occupied trying to subdue the taijutsu specialist, it finally came to my attention that Hinata-san was nowhere to be seen in the immediate area. After managing to break off to search for her...I found her in the state you just saw, with Neji-san standing over her." Shino finished clutching his fist inside of his jacket. Naruto himself couldn't believe the words that were coming from the boy's mouth.

' _How could you do that to someone in your own family?'_ Naruto thought angrily clenching his own fist at his side. Just then, the doors to the room opened and the team in question walked in. Tenten walked in first, followed by Rock Lee and Neji as they made their way over to Yugito who had just returned. Tenten proceeded to hand her the beacon in a hurry before turning to make her way down the hall, stopping in surprise when she noticed Naruto and the others waiting. Neji and Rock Lee came up behind her, with Neji immediately matching the even tempered stare down coming from Naruto.

"Is there a problem?" He asked smugly as Naruto continued tostare him down. He noticed the boy's fist shaking angrily at his side and gave him condescending smirk. "I would say we could solve it but I doubt there would be much 'solving' on your end now would there?"

Naruto was about to retort when a loud smack rang throughout the room, catching everyone off guard. Neji was holding his face, specifically the red mark on his cheek as Tenten stared up at him with tears of anger in her eyes.

"Don't you think you've done enough for today." She said shakily as she tried to hold in her emotions. After being met with silence, she turned to face Naruto who instinctively backed up slightly. "You wouldn't happen to know where they're keeping Hinata at would you?"

"Down the hall at the medical bay," Naruto said pointing in its direction dumbfoundedly. Nodding, Tenten turned to make her way over to the area. "Ahh, but they said they're not allowing any visiting right now!"

If the girl heard him, she didn't show it as she continued on without looking back. Neji scoffed and turned to head in the opposite direction, likely heading to the room they were assigned to. Naruto watched after his retreating form for a moment, still angry with the situation. Everyone's attention however turned to the remaining member of the group, Rock Lee, as he walked up to where Choji and Shino were standing. Without hesitation, he dropped down to his knee and got into a formal bowing position, catching everyone off guard.

"I would like to formally apologize on the behalf of my teammates actions, what he did to young Hinata-san was most unyouthful! Had I known what was taking place, I surely would have put a stop to it!" He yelled bowing even further as he finished. The others stared at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise, with even Yugito peeking around the corner to watch the boys antics. Choji scratched the back of his head as he looked away sheepishly, not really sure how to reply to him.

"I mean, it's not like you did anything wrong. Neji's the one who should be apologizing." Choji said as Lee rose back up to his feet.

"Yes, but I fear Neji-kun is far too prideful to admit to his own mistakes. His bottled up anger and resentful nature is something that Gai-sensei has yet to work out of him." Lee said looking down in disappointment before perking up again. "But fear not, for if anyone can save young Neji-kun from himself, it is the honorable Gai-sensei! And if he were to fail, then I myself will do two hundred laps around the village!"

"Uhhh, okay…" Choji said smiling nervously at the boy. "T-that sounds great Lee-san."

With that said, Lee immediately turned around to face Naruto, his eyes lighting up animatedly as he stared into the boy's own. Naruto, for the second time today, instinctively backed away a little as Lee's stare unnerved him a little. "Um, w-what's up Lee?"

"Yosh! Naruto-kun, I challenge you to a battle! A spar if you will, right here, right now! Together let us fan our flames of youth!" Lee yelled launching his fist up into the air. Naruto closed his eyes in a nervous smile as a sweatdrop slowly rolled down his face. He turned to the others for help, only to find that they had all distanced themselves away from the situation, giving him a thumbs up from a far. He even sparingly glanced at Yugito, who gave him a cheeky smile and thumbs up of her own from her spot at the front desk.

"Lousy sons of a…" Naruto grumbled before turning to address the still enthusiastic Lee. "Um, listen Lee, while that sounds like a very tempting offer, and I mean that sincerely, I think I'm going to have to pass on that offer for now. I'm a little...tired you know?"

"I understand, we do have the exams to worry about. Fear not, for after the exams are over we will surely have the chance to test our flames of youth against each other, Yosh!" The boy yelled before disappearing down the hall in the direction Tenten went earlier. Naruto stared after him blankly before sighing and grabbing at his head.

"I really do attract a lot of weirdo's don't I?"

"I tried to warn you…"

* * *

Following the exploits with Team Gai, Naruto and co made their way back into the cafeteria to try and take their mind off of everything that had happened. After Choji ate his fill, they moved over into the lounge room where they relaxed around for another two hours before their peaceful leisure was broken up by the arrival of someone else.

"Well would you look at what the cat dragged in." Naruto said grinning from his upside down hanging position on the couch. Kiba affectionately gave him the finger as he took a seat next to the blonde, throwing his head backwards on the couch in exhaustion.

"Man, if I knew becoming a chunin was going to be this damn troublesome I maybe would've waited a year." He said before slapping his face at what came out of his mouth. "Oh great, now i'm starting to sound like lord sloth over there."

"Wow Kiba, I never thought I'd see the day you'd say something was too much for you." Naruto said fixing himself and looking over at his friend in surprise. "I don't think things have been that bad so far."

"Yeah, well when you go head to head with Orochimaru and live to tell the tale then you can speak to me about things not being so bad so far." Kiba growled instinctively rubbing the bandage that went across his forehead. "I think I still have a migraine…"

"So Sakura-chan was right, you guys did actually go up against Orochimaru?" Naruto said looking over at him seriously. Kiba nodded his head as he reached behind his neck in order to stretch it out.

"It was weird, he didn't look anything like the pictures we were shown of him, or at least at first he didn't. He did this weird skin shedding thing and...w-well anyways, it looked like he was after Sasuke for some reason." Kiba said as Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan said something similar to that." Naruto responded as Choji decided to join in on the conversation.

"What we would Orochimaru want with Sasuke? Seems kind of risky to make a move like that during the exams." He said grabbing another set of chips out of his bag. Shikamaru shrunk down lower into his seat, sighing as his brain once again ran through the possibilities.

"The sharingan." Naruto said bluntly, getting everyone to look over at him in surprise. "What?"

"How the hell did you come up with that?" Kiba asked getting Naruto to roll his eyes.

"I mean, it's not that hard to figure out if you think about it. Sasuke's the last Uchiha, or at least the only one Orochimaru has any hope of getting too. What would anyone want with an Uchiha besides the sharingan?" the boy said getting Kiba to grumble in agreement. Shikamaru nodded his head as well, figuring everything checked out and made sense to him.

"Still, you're not exactly known for using your brain you know, I guess Shikamaru must be wearing off on you." Kiba said trying to rile the blonde up a little. Naruto was about to retort, but instead grabbed at his head and winced a little, standing up shakily as he made his way out of the room. "The hell man, where you going?"

"I think I need to go lay down for a minute, my head hurts." Naruto said stumbling slightly out of the room. The others watched him with varying levels of concern before Kiba turned to face Shikamaru.

"Is he alright? He seems a little different lately?" Kiba asked as Shikamaru shrugged at his question.

"Hell if I know what goes through that head of his, he's probably just tired." He replied before narrowing his eyes in thought.

' _Which when you think about it is weird in its own right, Naruto's rarely tired and we haven't done anything for the past two days.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself. He immediately thought back to the night him and Ino found him outside laying unconscious, and wondered if that had something to do with his recent demeanor.

"Troublesome…" He mumbled to himself before pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind for now.

Naruto meanwhile had collapsed against the nearest wall he could after getting out of eyesight from the others, clutching at his head as he tried to get himself together. Though this time there were no visions, Naruto could distinctly hear the sounds of war and fighting ringing throughout his head all around him, and his eyesight had became foggy and disoriented.

"What the hell did you do to me…"Naruto growled out as he clutched at his head harder. The sounds footsteps caused him to look up, only to be met with a total stranger. It was a women, with long black hair that matched her onyx eyes filled with concern. She bent over a little, resting her hands on her knees as she turned her head to the side in concern as she continued to stare at Naruto. For some reason, she reminded him of Sasuke in terms of her looks.

"Itachi-kun, are you alright?" She said, her soft voice reverbing deeply throughout Naruto's head causing him to close his eyes in pain as he put his hands over his ears. Taking a moment to recover, Naruto opened his eyes to be met with an entirely different sight than before.

"Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?" The new girl said as Naruto's eyes tried to focus in on her. Eventually his vision settled, and he looked up to peer into Fu's orange eyes as she looked over him in concern.

"F-Fu…" Naruto mumbled before collapsing forward into the girl's arms. He watched as the girl tried to shake him awake as he slowly lost consciousness, passing out seconds after his collapse.

* * *

"How much farther until we get there?"

"For the last time, we will be arriving soon enough."

"You said that five minutes ago, and though I can't prove it I'm almost certain we passed that tree already!"

Itachi sighed as he continued forward trying to ignore the words of his ill mannered teammate. Despite what his outward demeanor was showing, he himself was starting to feel a little frustrated at the cat and mouse game they were currently playing. Multiple times he had tried to zero in on Orochimaru's whereabouts, and every time they were always just a few moments too late. He had to hand it to the man, his paranoia levels were out of this world, likely the only reason he was still alive right now in the first place.

"We're here." Itachi said coming to a stop outside of a cave. Kisame landed beside him, squinting his eyes to peer inside for any sign of motion.

"You sure someone's in there? Seems awfully empty if you ask me." The shark skinned man said folding his arms over his chest. Itachi began to walk inside the cave, with Kisame flashing a smile as he followed after him.

"Remember, we're not here to fight. If our position here is compromised, we won't be able to gather intel on the Jinchuuriki here at the exams." Itachi said getting an eye roll from his partner. Still, he gave Itachi a curious glance as the man continued deeper into the cave.

"It's not often you do something outside of the mission parameters giving to us by the leader, yet you've been doing it an awful lot lately. Care to share what's going on?" Kisame asked flashing him another smirk. Itachi remained silent as they turned a corner, walking into a clearing lit up by a single makeshift fire. The area was empty however, causing Kisame to walk further inside looking around.

"Looks like nobody's home, maybe he got away again." Kisame said beginning to turn back around. It was then that a figure swooped down from the roof, appearing to attack the man when he found that his strike phased right through him. Landing on the ground, Orochimaru turned to glare at his target before his eyes widened when he noticed something was wrong.

Kisame was now standing completely still, almost as if he was frozen in time. That wasn't the only thing, as it seemed as though everything was frozen in place, from the crackling fire pit to even the air around him. He turned his head when he heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him, glaring as his eyes caught the sight of Itachi Uchiha. Soon though, he closed them and allowed a snake like grin to adorn his face as he stood up to his full height.

"Itachi-kun…" He said in a low purr opening his eyes again to stare at the man across from him.

"To what do I owe this...honor of a visit."

Itachi stayed silent, watching the Sannin passively as they stood in the still room. Orochimaru's smile grew wider before he disappeared in a instant, appearing before Itachi and thrusting a kunai into his chest. He made contact, forcing it deep inside the man as he continued to stare into the red eyes he adorned. Slowly, Itachi's formed faded away into a series of crows that circled throughout the room. Eventually they settle down behind Orochimaru, reforming themselves into the Uchiha who still continued to stay silent.

"As I figured, you've already placed me under a genjutsu. Those eyes of yours truly are amazing Itachi-kun…"Orochimaru said turning around to face him again, this time glaring murderously. "Still, I never once looked you in your eyes before that moment, so how you managed to do so is beyond me."

"Your first mistake was assuming that by avoiding my eyes you would be out of my reach." Itachi said closing them and holding up a single finger. Orochimaru growled as he caught on to what the man was implying before settling down and taking a deep breath. Opening his eyes again, he returned the smile he adorned earlier as Itachi dropped his hand and looked him over.

"So I assume the Akatsuki have finally come for that little ring of theirs. Honestly, such a fuss over a trivial matter of petty theft...it's unbecoming of such a great organization."

"As of now the ring, and your presence as a whole, is not a huge concern to us." Itachi said, noting how Orochimaru was visibly stirred by being dismissed as a threat. "This visit is more or less a personal one."

"Oh? And what could possibly make Itachi Uchiha take an interest in little ol' me." Orochimaru replied noting that he had now lost control of his own body's movement. Itachi seemed to be considering his thoughts before he spoke again.

"I see you've taken a interest in my little brother." Orochimaru's face dropped ever so slightly at those words before he continued on with his mocking smile.

"A little late to be taking on the caring older brother role Itachi-kun." Orochimaru said dropping his smile as Itachi scoffed at his words.

"My foolish little brother is of no concern of mine." He said as the sharingan in his eyes began spinning widely. "What he holds however, that's a different story."

Walking forward, he grabbed Orochimaru by his face and turned it so it was staring directly into his. He applied a little force, getting the pale older man to grunt in slight pain.

"When I said you would never be able to gain these eyes, I was not speaking in terms of just mine." Itachi said, his voice barely being over a whisper now. "Whatever game you're serving to play, just know that I'll always be there. And if need be, I will act."

Letting go of his face, Itachi backed away slowly as Orochimaru watched him. Once again his body began to separate into crows, this time almost double the number before. They moved about erratically, completely obscuring Orochimaru's vision as the entire room was covered. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, they cleared out, leaving him standing alone in the cave with the fire crackling being the only sound around.

Reaching up, he felt around the area of his face Itachi had held, smiling as he turned to face the entrance of the cave.

"That boy...he truly is a prodigy in every sense of the word." Orochimaru said. "Still Itachi-kun, You won't have to worry about me making a move on Sasuke-kun. Not when he's going to come to me…"

Outside of the cave, Kisame and Itachi were making their way back to their hideout after Itachi had finished what he setout to do.

"So we came all this way, just for you and old snake man to have a five second staring contest." Kisame said visibly put off by the lack of action he witnessed. "If you were that bored, me and you could've had a little light sparring session you know."

"For one, I doubt you even know how to hold a 'light' sparring session." Itachi said staring forward. "I told you we couldn't risk making a scene in regards to our mission. All that matters is I completed what I setout to do."

"Yeah, well you know this mean that I get personal request as well right?" Kisame said looking over at him.

"What do you want?"

"...well you can't just put me on the spot like that, jeez!"

"But you're the one who brou-"

"Ahh just forget about it."

"..."

* * *

 **(The Next Day)**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he let out a groan and grabbed at his head. Sitting up slightly, he immediately regretted the decision as the room began to spin violently and his vision became shaky again. As he waited for things to calm down, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and looked up to see Ino, or three Ino's to be exact, looking back at him worriedly.

"Slow your roll there Whiskers, don't go making any sudden movements." She said leaning him back against the headboard. She handed him a glass of water, waiting patiently as he gulped it down quickly. "Feeling better?"

"Depends on your definition of better." Naruto grunted placing the cup down. "I'm still alive so that's a plus I guess."

"Wow, bleak much." Ino replied jokingly getting up from the bed. Naruto watched curiously as she packed the little belongings she had with her up, sparking his curiosity.

"Why are you packing up already? We can't leave until the exams over." he said removing the cover over him and kicking his feet over the edge of the bed. He noticed that both his and Shikamaru's bags had been packed up as well.

"Whiskers, the exams _are_ over. The last team came in a hour ago." Ino said turning to face him. "You've been out for almost an entire two days you know."

Naruto froze at those words as he looked back up at her shockingly. Ino simply nodded in confirmation of her words as she turned to continue packing. The door to the room opened, with both of them looking up as Shikamaru walked into the room. His eyes lingered on Naruto for a moment before he went over to his bed and fell face forward.

"Mmhp uf bmmhm uhight?" He mumbled from his position. Both Naruto and Ino shared a glance before Naruto decided to get some clarification.

"Um, do you mind repeating that Shika? Without a mouthful of bed?" Shikamaru repositioned himself so that his head was sticking up, looking forward aimlessly as he restated his question.

"I said are you feeling alright? You've been kind of out of it lately, and then we find out you were in a hallway barely breathing. If that Fuu girl hadn't showed up when she did who knows what would have happened to you." Shikamaru said looking over at him. His face turned serious as he sat up fully. "Something happened while you were out there in the exam didn't it? Back when we found you unconscious?"

Ino turned around to face him as well, also curious about that night's happenings. Naruto stared at them for a moment, his face not showing the internal battle he was having in his head.

' _Why don't you just tell them? I mean what's the worse that could happen?'_

' _Well you could end up, you know, dead like Itachi said you would. Or even worse, they could.'_

' _But I mean, do you really think he would be able to find out if I said something?'_

' _Do you want to find out? I mean if you want to die be my guest, it's not affecting me at all.'_

' _We're the same person you dipshit, it would affect you.'_

" **...If you don't take this inner monologue with yourself somewhere else, I swear I'll let your mind fall back into the coma you were just in."**

' _...I mean technically I can't take my thoughts anywhere else-'_

"Naruto!"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD DAMN IT!" He yelled jumping up and grabbing at his hair. After a moment he opened his eyes and peered forward to see both Ino and Shikamaru staring at him with their mouths opened.

"Yup, it's official, he's totally lost it." Ino said grabbing onto Shikamaru's arm in fright. Shikamaru simply shook his head, looking back up at Naruto pitifully.

"All that cup ramen must have finally deteriorated his brain cells, the small amount he had in the first place never stood a chance."

"I'm not crazy damn it!" Naruto yelled again stomping his foot on the ground. Taking a deep breath, he let it out in a heavy sigh as he dropped to ground. "Aw what the hell does it matter anyway. I'll tell you guys, but you have to promise you won't say anything to anyone, not even Asuma-sensei."

Ino and Shikamaru straightened up after hearing this, both nodding their head to show they agreed. Naruto took another deep breath before scratching the back of his head as he thought of how to word it. Soon he gave up on that though and figured he'd just be straight up.

"I ran into...a man. I don't know who he was, but I can tell you this, he was extremely powerful. Powerful enough that even I felt intimidated by him, so that should give you a good idea of what we're dealing with."

"Well what did he look like?" Ino asked leaning forward to hear him better.

"Yeah, and what the hell did he do to you while you were out there that has you so out of it." Shikamaru said frowning at the obscurity of the situation. He'd rather not know about troublesome situations as what you didn't know couldn't bother you, but if he did have to know he wanted to know every detail.

"He wasn't really tall per say, maybe around Iruka-sensei's height. Slim build, though I couldn't really tell since he was wearing a cloak. I uh… I didn't really get a good look at his face outside of that." He finished trying to describe Itachi without really describing him. He could see some skepticism in Shikamaru's face though, she quickly decided to add some extra information. "B-but i do remember he had black hair! That's for sure."

Seeing that the little bit of extra information seemed to satisfy the boy, he moved on to dealing with the next question. "In terms of what he did to me, I'm not even sure on that end. He said he wanted to talk to me, but we really didn't even talk. He said that just meeting me was enough for me and that I was different than what he expected. After that he put me in a genjutsu, which I really need to get better against by the way, and after that I was knocked out."

"Wow," Ino said leaning backwards. "You really might be the most troublesome person in the history of mankind."

"That's my line." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Going of what you've said, it looks like someone is keeping tabs on you, or maybe it's a group of someones. It might be about-"

Shikamaru stopped however after the glare Naruto quickly sent his direction silenced him. Luckily enough, Ino hadn't been paying attention as she was still playing what he said over in her mind.

"Still, why don't you want us to tell anyone about this? It doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing we should keep quiet about, especially with it happening during the exam…" Ino said. Naruto scratched the back of his head as he pondered over it before ultimately deciding to just come all the way clean.

"The reason why is because...the person was Itachi Uchiha." Naruto said as both Ino and Shikamaru's jaws dropped at that declaration. "And he made it pretty clear that he didn't want me talking about it."

"Wait wait wait wait, so you're telling me that you ran into _thee_ Itachi Uchi-" Ino started before suddenly she stopped talking. Her body became rigid and her eyes glossed over as she simply seemed to stare at Naruto blankly from across the room.

"Hey, are you alright?" He said waving a hand in her face but getting no response. "Uhh Shikamaru, I think something's up with Ino-"

He stopped however when he noticed Shikamaru was giving him the same blank stare. At this point Naruto was completely creeped out, and backed up slightly as their eyes didn't even follow him, instead focusing on the spot he was just in. He was about to try to reach out to them again when Ino blinked and began to look around the room in a daze. Her eyes landed on Naruto again as they went wide and she jumped up in shock.

"Naruto, your eye is bleeding!" She yelled getting up from her spot on the bed. At this point Shikamaru had gotten out of his daze as well and was looking over at the blonde in concern.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked bringing his hand up to his face. Sure enough, he felt something wet coming from his right eye, and pulled it back to see the red substance staining his fingers. _'Ok, what the hell is going here?'_

"Here, take this." Ino said passing him a wet towel. Naruto took it and cleaned his face, pushing against the area of his eye to see if any more blood would come out. Oddly enough, nothing else happened and he didn't even feel any pain coming from the spot.

"Well that was random…" Naruto said in regards to the situation, putting it to the back of his mind for now. "So yeah, now you guys know the truth...you guys won't tell anyone about what we just talked about right?"

"What are you talking about?" Ino said looking over at him with a frown. "What were we talking about?"

"You know, about what happened in the forest? When you guys found me unconscious?" Naruto said taking the towel off his face. Shikamaru flopped backwards on his bed, kicking his feet up as he closed his eyes.

"You said it was nothing to worry about right? Why would we need to tell anyone about it. Besides, it's all over with now right? We've already passed the exam." Shikamaru said not looking up from his spot. It was then that Naruto realized something was up, and sat quietly watching the two as they moved about.

"So, what we were just talking about then?" He asked seriously, looking up as Ino finished the last of her packing.

"I came in here too see if you were ok and to finish packing up. Lucky for us you woke up when you did, the exams are over. You've been out for almost a full two days you know, that must've been some nasty migraine you had." Ino said sliding the bag on her back. "Come on Shika, let's leave so Whiskers can get changed. We'll meet you in the lounge room, Yugito-san is going to explain what happens next so don't take to long."

The two left the room as Naruto continued to stare after them from his spot on the floor. Silently, he went about changing his clothes and freshening himself up, all while his mind was still stuck on the odd set of events that had just transpired. As he prepared to leave the room, he could only come to one conclusion to it all.

Itachi Uchiha.

' _I don't know how he did it, but that bastard must have put a genjutsu or something inside my...mind maybe? Something that would activate when I tried to tell what happened that night.'_ Naruto thought as he made his way into the lounge room. _'I'd heard the stories of him being good, hell some were calling him the best thing to come out of Konoha since the Fourth, but still, this is ridiculous. Just how strong is this guy?!'_

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Naruto made his way down the hall into the lounge. As he entered the room, he took a quick moment to scan over the teams that had passed on to the next round. He already knew of course of Fu's team and the other two konoha teams that had made it. Gaara's team was also there, which he had actually forgot about since he hadn't seen them the entire time they were there even though they finished first. He was happy to see Samui's team had passed, though judging by their current state they were likely the last to do so.

The final two teams were from Kumogakure and and Iwagakure, though Naruto had no prior interactions with either of them. Noticing that he had entered the room, Yugito motioned for him to come over and join them as she prepared to explain what the next round would consist of.

"Congratulations on passing the second round of the exams!" She said clapping her hands together with warm smile on her face. Every boy within the room instantly blushed at the sight of the beautiful girl's charming smile. "Whether you know it or not, all of you have already shown a great deal of your abilities and skills just by doing so. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the Kage's of your respective villages have been very impressed with you all as a whole."

"Now, in terms of what will be transpiring over the next couple weeks for the final exam." She continued getting a little more serious. "You will have essentially a little over a month to rest up and prepare yourself for the final test, which will take place inside of the stadium near the original building you took the first exam. You will be participating in individual matchups, one on one, knock out style, unless told differently by the instructor directly. Any questions?" Looking around to confirm there were none, she nodded her head as she kicked herself up off of the wall she was leaning on.

"Remember, while there's going to be a lot more entertainment value for this part of the exam, it's still a test to see if you are capable of handling the role of a chunin. While it may be tempting to go out and put on a flashy show, it means nothing if you don't show the leadership and smarts needed to run a team. Winning a match isn't a guarantee that you'll be promoted, just like losing isn't a guarantee that you won't. Keep that in mind and you should do fine."

With those final words of inspiration, the woman left the room, leaving behind a group of highly motivated Genin behind. None more so than Naruto himself, who was taking her words too heart.

' _Alright then, that settles it. No more playing around, time to show everyone what Naruto Uzumaki is all about.'_ He thought nodding to himself. Everyone began to file out of the room and building, heading to their hotels to get some rest and prepare for the next stage. It took Team 10 around 20 minutes to reach the main gates, where they saw Asuma waiting for them.

"Asuma-sensei!" Ino yelled shocked to see him there. "What are you doing here, I wasn't expecting to see you again until we made it back to the hotel." The man ruffled her hair a little, getting an irritated shout in return as he smiled down at the rest of them.

"I was very impressed from what I heard about you guys in the exams. Finishing it up as quickly as you did, I figured I'd take you guys out as a treat for doing so well."

"You're paying right." Naruto and Shikamaru both said simultaneously squinting up at the man. Asuma let out a hearty laugh that soon died down to a chuckle, before it turned into him just rubbing the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face.

"Well uh, I was hoping you could at least-"

"You're such a cheapskate Asuma-sensei." Ino said walking past him, her excitement at seeing her teacher all but gone now. Naruto and Shikamaru followed suite, ignoring their sensei's shouts of indignation behind them.

"Wait! I was just joking, I'm serious!" He yelled jogging to catch up to them. After managing to convince them, the group settled on eating at a ramen stand, much to the delight of Naruto. While eating, they ran over everything that happened in the exam to Asuma, who got rather serious when they came up on the topic of Orochimaru.

"I see, so the reports were accurate." Asuma said lifting his face up from his hands. "Kakashi and his team are supposedly still in talks with the Raikage about the situation right now, which is the reason we haven't left out for the village yet. You guys didn't have any run ins with him did you?"

The trio shook their heads to show they hadn't. Asuma let out a sigh of relief, as Kakashi was in situation that he didn't exactly envy right now. Naruto stared down at his bowl of empty ramen in contemplation, pondering whether or not he should talk about his encounter with Itachi to him. He decided against it however, not entirely sure that whatever had happened to Shikamaru and Ino wouldn't happen to his sensei as well.

"Welp," Asuma said standing up from the stand. "If all goes well, we should be leaving out of here later tonight. You guys should head back to the hotel and get some rest while you can, it's probably going to be a non stop trip until we get back to the village for the most part. If you need me, I'll be out with Ku-uh, I mean, at the bar!" Laughing nervously for the second time today, he slid underneath the flaps of stand, leaving behind his team of genin as Ino stared after him suspiciously.

"So there really is something going on between those two huh? Who would've thought Asuma-sensei had it in him to pull someone of Kurenai-sensei's level." She said as Naruto and Shikamaru looked at her in surprise.

"Asuma-sensei's dating Kurenai-sensei?" Shikamaru asked finishing his bowl.

"Alright sensei! I knew you had it in you!" Naruto said launching his fist up into the air. Shikamaru simply shook his head in disbelief as Ino watched them with a miffed look on her face.

"You guys really couldn't tell that they were dating? I've had my suspicions for a while now, he's always slipping up and saying her name, sneaking off with her, and one time I even-"

"Men don't pay attention to that stuff Ino-chan, we just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens, isn't that right Shika?"

"Huh?"

"See?" Naruto said grinning back at her. Ino looked as if she wanted to respond, but with her better judgement decided not too and instead slid off of the stool and exited the stand.

"I'm heading back to the hotel room." She said flippantly. _'Jeez, no wonder guys are so clueless to the hints us women leave them.'_

Naruto, along with a very distant Sasuke, let out a rather large sneeze after that thought.

* * *

 **(5 Days Later, Back In Konoha)**

It had officially been one day since Naruto and co had returned home to Konoha. Seeing as he spent the first day home sleeping his life away, this second day was really more like his first. After cleaning himself up, Naruto found himself standing on top of his apartment's balcony, looking out over the village with an emotionless stare. Scratching the back of his head, he looked around absentmindedly before shrugging his shoulders and hopping down to the neighboring roof.

"Guess I'll go find Asuma-sensei, no point in waiting to start training." Naruto figured as he set off in search of his sensei. Seeing as both Shikamaru and Ino were being trained by their parents, he figured Asuma would be able to devote almost his full attention to him. He'd have to figure out whether or not Anko was in the village currently as well, hoping to show her how much he had improved. "Now, where the hell is Asuma-sensei…"

Stopping by his house, their training ground, and even the barbecue place they frequented within the village, Naruto couldn't find a trace of the man anywhere. Landing outside of the hot springs, he was about to check and see if Asuma was inside when the sound of giggling caught his attention. Curiosity getting the best of him, he circled around back only to be met with the sight of a large man with white hair peeking inside the womens side. Holding back an irritated eye twitch, Naruto sighed as he walked up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, sir, you really shouldn't be doing that." Naruto said trying to stay diplomatic. The man looked up at him, squinting his eyes at the boy before turning back to the hole and continuing to peer inside.

"Go away Gaki, I'm busy here." The man replied before continuing with his perverse giggling. This time Naruto couldn't hold back the twitching in his left eye as he stared down at him with his arms folded over his chest. Grabbing the man by the shoulder again, this time applying a little pressure to his grip, Naruto smiled deceptively as he tried to continue on with the diplomatic approach.

"Look here you old pervert, I'm trying to be nice about this. I'm gonna' have to ask you to stop peeking or I'll have to open up a can of whoop ass on you until you get the message!" He said, the diplomatic approach he was going for all but disappearing. Grunting, the older man began to rise up to his full height, which easily towered over Naruto's own. Heck, the blonde would actually be a little intimidated if he wasn't, you know, Naruto Uzumaki. Turning around, the older man looked over Naruto passively, his eyes lingering on the cerulean blue ones staring back at him for a moment before continuing upwards to the blonde mop of hair on his head.

"A can of whoop ass eh?" The man said walking forward, getting Naruto to back up as well. When he crouched down, Naruto jumped backwards and fell into a defensive stance, preparing to defend himself before he noticed the man was only stomping on the ground weirdly.

"You must not know who you're dealing with kid! Known as the Mountain Toad, the immortal spirit sage, or the Toad Mountain Sage, it is I, the legendary Jiraiya! The strongest, and sexiest, of the Legendary Sannin!" Finishing off his dance on top of a boulder, Jiraiya held the pose with his eyes closed and a large smile on his face.

' _Bet this Gaki recognizes me now, he's probably groveling at my feet right now.'_ The man thought opening his eyes. Naruto did have a look of surprise on his face, but it wasn't exactly the one Jiraiya had in mind.

"You're...Jiraiya? Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin?" Naruto asked in disbelief as the toad sage continued to hold the pose. Slapping his face, Naruto shook his head in disbelief as he turned away from the sight. "I can't believe it, the legendary Jiraiya is a huge peeking pervert...and a idiot from the looks of things." Jiraiya sweatdropped at those words, clearing his throat as he jumped down from the rock and straightened himself out.

"Well seeing as you know how important I am, could you scram kid? I need to get back to my important research." Jiraiya said smiling lecherously as he looked back over at his peeping hole. Naruto grunted as he figured there would be no getting through to the man, and there wasn't exactly anything he could do currently to stop him.

"Whatever, I need to go see the old man about my training anyways." Naruto mumbled turning to head in the direction of the Hokage's office. Jiraiya perked up slightly at those words, looking at the boy's retreating form as he continued on.

"Old man? You're not talking about the Hokage are you?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto stopped and turned around. Nodding his head tentatively, he flinched slightly as Jiraiya flashed a grin at him. "That's great! I actually need to talk to that old geezer as well, let's go together yeah?" Before Naruto could argue, the man was already making his way towards the Hokage tower, leaving Naruto with nothing to do but grumble unhappily in his mind.

Making their way into the tower, Naruto stopped however when Jiraiya did so and simply took to staring up his office. "Uhh, what are you doing?" Jiraiya looked down at the boy with a bored expression before turning back to look upwards.

"I told you, I'm going to see the old man." With that, he launched himself up to the nearest windowsill, Naruto watching with his mouth agape as the man made his way into the office through it.

"Ok, that was pretty cool…" Naruto grumbled as he made his way through the front entrance. Walking up the stairs, he pushed on the doors only to find that they were lock. Grunting, he walked away to lean on the wall next to it. "What's so important that they had to lock the door?"

Inside the office, Jiraiya leaned against the wall as Sarutobi pulled out a pipe of his famed tobacco. Taking a quick puff, he took a moment to look over his former student. Smiling, he placed the pipe down in his lap as he exhaled the smoke. "You're looking well Jiraiya-kun, your book series must be doing you wonders."

"Of course it is, I'm a number one seller as you're already well aware of." Jiraiya said with a small smirk. Dropping it quickly though, he looked up at his old sensei with a serious stare as the room fell quietly. "So what's this all about? I doubt you'd call me back to the village so abruptly without a reason."

"I assume you already know what it is I really want," Sarutobi said picking up his pipe. "I'm getting old Jiraiya-kun, too old for this job especially. It would be a great relief if-"

"I'm not taking up the job old man, you already know this." Jiraiya said closing his eyes. "Besides, you're not that old. I mean, look at that old croak Onoki, he's still out and kicking isn't he."

"That he is," Sarutobi said letting out a small chuckle. "I fear however that I am not in a position to follow in his footsteps." The sound in Sarutobi's voice didn't rub Jiraiya the right way as he kicked himself off of the wall.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" The Sannin asked as the Hokage took a long pull from his pipe. Exhaling, he remained quiet for a moment before looking up at his student, his gaze piercing yet showing age at the same time.

"It seems that you can only run from that which comes with old age for so long." He said leaning back in his chair. "I've grown ill Jiraiya, and I'm afraid it's rather serious."

Jiraiya simply stared at his old sensei in shock, not saying a word for a few seconds as the sounds of the bustling village beneath ran into the room from the closed windows. Clearing his throat Jiraiya tried to speak but still found that he didn't have the words to say. Pulling himself together, he walked forward slightly so he could stand right in front of Hiruzen's desk. "How long have you been...how long have you known?"

"It's been a little over a year now." The Hokage said as Jiraiya threw his hands into the air. "The condition has only recently gotten to a point of concern though."

"And how long were you planning on hiding this? If you would've said something before now we could've gotten you some treatment and-"

"Do you think I was reckless enough to not exercise all my options? I've been undergoing treatment this entire time, it's the only reason the disease hasn't affected me as long as it's been." Sarutobi said raising his voice a little. Taking a breath to calm down, he leaned forward and placed his arms on top of his desk, masking his mouth behind his hands. "I've done everything short of calling _her_ here herself."

"Well why didn't you call for her? Better yet, why didn't you call for me, you know I could've tracked her down!" Jiraiya said leaning down to stare in his face.

"It would have made no difference either way, this is something that even Tsunade wouldn't be able to do something about." Sarutobi said waving him off. "Would it do you better to know that it isn't anything fatal?"

"Well what the hell is it then?" Jiraiya asked as the Hokage stood up from his seat. Rolling up the sleeves on his robe, he showed Jiraiya his right arm, moving forward so his student could get a better look. A series of vein-like structures were shooting throughout his arm, almost as if his blood stream were enlarging to unnatural rates. "Is it a blood problem?"

"No, chakra coils." Sarutobi said rolling his sleeve down and returning back to his seat. "Various coils throughout my body are shutting down. Because of this, other coils are being forced to compensate for their failures, which eventually results in them shutting down as well. Soon, I won't even be able to mold chakra at all, I've already lost a great deal of my control." Jiraiya remained silent as he ran over the information he was given.

"And you're sure Tsunade wouldn't be able to fix it?" Jiraiya asked as Sarutobi shook his head negative.

"At best, she would be able to slow down the process for a little while longer. My career as a shinobi is reaching it's end." He replied with a small smile as he leaned backwards in his chair and picked up his pipe. Jiraiya sighed as he took a seat in front of the old man, massaging his temple as he tried to mediate the headache coming.

"So what the hell do you plan on doing? You know I'm not going to be taking that role." Jiraiya said looking over at him.

"While I would love for you to be the one to be my successor, I can see now that it won't be happening. There is another one I had hoped would take up the job but…"

"You can't get in touch with her. And you'd have a hell of time trying to convince her to take up the job as well. Damn near impossible as a matter of fact…" Jiraiya said standing up. "But still, possible at least."

"What are you saying Jiraiya-kun?" Sarutobi asked as the white haired man stretched his limbs.

"I'm saying that Tsunade is your best bet at getting a capable, and trustworthy, successor for the Hokage role. And while you can't find her, I can." Jiraiya said smiling as he made his way over to the door. Opening it up, Naruto fell inside the room, waking up with a start and looking around the room frantically as he had falling asleep leaning up against the door. "And I'm taking this Gaki with me."

"Huh? Say whaa?" Naruto asked still looking around in a daze. Sarutobi looked up at him before down at Naruto.

"You plan on taking Naruto to look for Tsunade? Right now?" The elderly man asked as Jiraiya nodded to confirm his thoughts. "But he's in the middle of the Chunin exa-"

"Oh I'll train the little bugger, it's no big deal! We'll be back before the final exams start anyway. He's got what, a month? That's plenty of time to track the princess down and drag her ass back to Konoha." Jiraiya replied as Naruto was still trying to catch the gist of what was being talked about.

"I'm still not following, what exactly is going on here?" Naruto asked looking up at the old man. It was Jiraiya however who grabbed him by his shoulders and lifted him up, patting the dirt off of him with a grin.

"Congratulation's Gaki, you're going on an A-rank mission with none other than the legendary Jiraiya! Go pack your stuff and we'll hash out the details later." Jiraiya said lifting boy up despite his protests.

"What the hell are you talking about you crazy old p-AAGHHH!" The blonde yelled as Jiraiya tossed him out of the window that he entered in. Clapping his hands together, the Toad Sage turned to grin at his sensei, who simply shook his head at the man's antics.

"So, tell me everything I should know about the kid."

* * *

 **(Later That Afternoon)**

After clearing up some mishaps and little bit of protesting on his end, Naruto had finally finished packing and was checking over everything to ensure he was ready to head out.

"I'm home for one day and they're already shipping me out on some other wild spectacle." He said rummaging through his bag one last time. Closing it, he let out a sigh as he leaned backwards from his position on the floor, staring up at the ceiling of his apartment in thought with a starry grin on his face. "Still though, it's an A-rank mission and a chance to be trained by one of the legendary Sannin, it's something I absolutely can't pass up. Honestly, it's a dream come true." Hearing his door knob turn, he looked over to see a rather exhausted Ino and Shikamaru stumble into his humble apartment, with one collapsing in a chair while the other did so on the couch.

"I. Am. Tired." Ino said moving a string of hair out her face. "And sweaty. I _hate_ being sweaty."

"I'm sure my chair does too." Naruto said snarkily as he looked over at his other teammate. "First day of training already got you guys this worn out?"

Shikamaru grunted while Ino ignored him, and instead focused on fanning herself with the deluxe ramen magazine she had in her hand. That's when she noticed the bag's however and looked over at Naruto curiously. "You do remember the exams aren't for another month right?" Naruto looked up at her oddly before remembering the packed bag sitting between his legs.

"Oh, that. Well, I'm going out for an A-rank mission and training with Jiraiya-san later tonight. I was gonna' come tell you guys later but you decided to show up at my apartment unannounced." Naruto said moving the bag to the side. Standing up, he could already feel both pairs of eyes staring at him and sigh as he turned around. "What?"

"Jiraiya? As in _thee_ Legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin? That Jiraiya? And an A-rank mission without us? Can you even do that?" Ino said dropping the magazine in her hand. When Naruto nodded to confirm her words, she simply fell backwards into her chair, while Shikamaru threw his face back into the couch. "Sure, why not I guess? Nothing else with you ever makes sense. You don't even seemed surprised about the situation so why should I?"

"Oh I'm surprised alright, surprised one of the greatest Konoha shinobi-no, one of the greatest shinobi ever period is massive pervert." Naruto grumbled. Deciding to keep that information to himself though, Naruto took a seat next to the couch as the three sat in relative silence for a moment. Becoming uncomfortable, Naruto squirmed a little in his spot as he thought up a way to break the silence. "Sooo...anything happening-"

He stopped however when the sound of snoring caught his attention. Looking over, he could see that Shikamaru was sound asleep on his couch. "Oh well that's just swell, do you see this...and you're asleep too." Naruto said looking over in Ino's direction as her head was dipping in her hand. Getting up quietly, he reached over and grabbed the bag he had packed earlier. Throwing it on his back, he checked his watch before nodding and heading towards the door. "It's almost time for me to head out anyway I guess."

On his way, he took one more look at Ino, who seemed to be struggling to find a comfortable spot on the chair. Rolling his eyes, he walked over and gently picked her up, trying his best not rouse her from her sleep. Taking her into his room, he laid her down on his bed, sparing one last glance before he snapped his fingers and walked over to his dresser. Scribbling down a quick note, he looked over it before nodding and placing it on the door way.

 _Be back in a month, please lock up! And don't touch my ramen!_

* * *

"Here we are…" Naruto said standing in front of a pair of gates. Swallowing a knot in his throat, he walked forward towards the guards who were standing watch. Both of them looked down at him with stern looks on their faces, not easing Naruto's nerves one bit. "Uhh, this is the Hyuga compound right?"

"State your business." The guard on the right said completely ignoring his question.

' _Prick.'_ Naruto thought to himself trying to keep his anger in check. "I was hoping maybe I could see Hinata-chan?" He immediately regretted his choice of words after the guard on the right eye's narrowed, while the one on the left's widened.

"Chan huh?" The guard who looked less imposing said with slight amusement in his voice. The guard on the right shot him a glare after that remark, which made him straightening up and stare forward. The man was about to retort when he suddenly his hand shot up to his ear, listening closely to something in a earset that Naruto couldn't hear.

"WHAT!?" The guard yelled scaring both his partner and Naruto. "You damn new recruits can't do anything right, how do you lose a 8 year old girl!" Wincing at his volume, Naruto looked over at the other guard, who shrugged his shoulders at the situation and looked back over to his companion. "Start a search party and find her now! Move! Come on Tai-san, we need to survey around the compound."

"Can I ask what's going on?" The guard known as Tai said as they moved out. Naruto couldn't make out everything that was said, but he did manage to pick up something.

Hanabi and the word missing.

' _Must be a Hyuga kid.'_ Naruto thought to himself turning to head away. Figuring that his chances of seeing Hinata before he left were pretty much out the window now, Naruto decided that he would try to track down Anko seeing as he had some down time. He tried her apartment first only to find it completely empty. He checked the training ground that they frequently trained at and he even sent a few clones into the forest of death, not bold enough to go in there alone with him having to leave soon. Still he found no traces of her and was beginning to wonder whether or not she was even in the village at all.

"Where the hell is this woman…" Naruto said making his way back into the training ground they usually met at. Walking towards the big tree in the center, he stopped moving when the sound of light snoring caught his attention. Creeping forward, he peered around the other side of the tree's trunk, thinking it was the person he had been searching for. "Anko-san? Is that you?"

Coming fully around, he back peddled a little when he saw who it actually was. She had long, flowing brown hair that was currently sprawled out underneath her resting form. Her skin was a pink milky color and appeared smooth to the touch, so much so that Naruto was tempted to touch her just to see how it felt. She was wearing a black training suit, and judging from the condition of her clothes she had been rather busy before she decided to take a nap.

"Maybe I should just leave her here…" Naruto mumbled checking the watch on his wrist. He only had an hour before he and Jiraiya were supposed to set out, and he definitely didn't want to be left behind. Still, he didn't exactly feel comfortable leaving a little girl all alone out in the wild. In the end his conscious won out as he found himself bending down and shaking the girl slightly to wake her up. Though she ignored his initial attempts to get her up, his persistence eventually got to her as she started to stretch and yawn while Naruto moved back to give her some space.

Sitting up sleepily, blinking a few times as she took in her surroundings, the girl looked over in the direction of the blonde as he gave her a tentative smile. She stared at him for a moment, and judging by the look on her face Naruto could tell she still wasn't coherent. Eventually her sense must have kicked in as her eyes became alert and she looked around the clearing before focusing on Naruto again.

It was then that Naruto took notice of her eyes. They were milky white. Eerily similar to another person he knew…

"Oh damn it." Naruto said aloud facepalming as the girl watched him curiously. Taking his hand off of his face, he let out a sigh as he realized that this was a Hyuga, and most likely the one the guards had been talking about earlier.

"Um, can I ask who you might be?" The girl said scooting away from the boy, a little unnerved by his actions. Naruto picked up on how uncomfortable she might be and tried to negate the situation with a nervous smile again, which didn't help much.

"Oh, right, a stranger waking you up out of nowhere is probably pretty weird right?" He said scratching his head. "Anyways, I'm Naruto Uzumaki for starters, and I found you out here sleeping all alone so I figured I'd wake you up. It's dangerous for someone your age to be sleeping out in the open like this you know." The girl was silent as he spoke, relaxing a little when Naruto had finished explaining the situation. Naruto was expecting for her to introduce herself as well, when instead the girl crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"I'll have you know I wasn't sleeping, but simply resting my eyes. I was fully aware of my surroundings the entire time, so your concern was unwarranted." She said looking away haughtily. Naruto lifted his fist into the air, preparing to knock some sense into the brat when he took a deep breath and lowered it, allowing a mocking smile to come back on his face.

"You were snoring."

"What ar- N-no I wasn't!"

"Totally sounded like snoring to me."

"I was just resting my eyes!"

"While you were sleeping."

"I wasn't sleeping!" The girl yelled jumping up to her feet and stomping on the ground. Naruto looked away as he faked cleared out his ear, acting uninterested in the situation.

"Whatever you say kid, it's none of my business anyways. You got a name?" He asked figuring if she planned on giving it up on her own by now she would've did so. The girl settled down some, returning to her sitting position but still refusing to look Naruto in the face.

"Hanabi Hyuga."

' _Bingo.'_ Naruto thought to himself confirming his thought that this was the missing Hyuga girl. Sighing, he was about to offer to take her home when he noticed the scars on her hands and arms. "What were you doing out here in the first place? You're filthy." Hanabi looked as if she was about to retort angrily until she looked over her clothing and noted that she was rather dirty. Blushing in embarrassment, she looked away again, grumbling something about overdoing it with training, much to the amusement of Naruto.

"Training huh? You look a little young to be doing it on your own, though I guess I'm not one to talk seeing as I used to at your age as well." Naruto said looking up in thought. Hanabi glanced over at him curiously, looking away again before he noticed. Still, curiosity got the best of her as she turned to face the boy fully, eyes lighten up a little with excitement.

"So you're a shinobi then?" She asked. Naruto flicked the headband hanging around his neck in response. Hanabi stared up at the older boy in awe for a moment, much to the discomfort of Naruto who wasn't exactly used to getting such looks. Remembering his plan from earlier, Naruto snapped his fingers, startling the younger girl as he rose up to his feet and extended his hand out towards her.

Come on, we need to head back over to your clan's compound. They're out looking for you you know." Naruto said as the girl took his hand hesitantly and immediately jumped up to her feet.

"I'm usually able to make it back before they notice, I knew I shouldn't have taken that nap…" Hanabi said dusting herself off. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her words, turning to head back to the compound with her following after him.

"So you were sleeping then?" He asked. Hanabi once again closed her eyes and looked away with her arms crossed over her chest.

"No, I was resting my eyes."

"But you just said...forget it." Naruto said figuring that conversation was heading nowhere new. Hanabi giggled at the boy's facial expression, finding his over the top reactions amusing. As the two were walking he remembered another question that he had been meaning to ask her. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know Hinata Hyuga would you?"

"She's my sister." Hanabi said nonchalantly, getting Naruto to stumble slightly at that abrupt news. "Why do you ask?" She continued looking up at him with a frown on her face.

"She's a friend of mine and I was just wondering how she was doing." Naruto said regaining his composure and looking down at his company. Hanabi was staring forward, her face not showing any of the emotion it was displaying earlier. "I tried to go see her earlier but the guards wouldn't let me in."

"I can take you to her if you would like." Hanabi said still staring forward. "They're being rather protective of her now seeing as she's in a vulnerable state, but we can see her once we return."

"Hey, thanks Hanabi-chan. I'll owe you one." Naruto said grinning down at her. Hanabi shrugged his words off as they neared the entrance of the compound, were Tai was the only one standing guard. Seeing Naruto and Hanabi walk up, his eyes went wide as he peered around before running up to meet the two.

"Y-you found her! Where the hell was she?" Tai asked once he got in front of them. Naruto saw that Hanabi had stiffened up a bit, likely worried that he would give up her secret training spot.

"I found her wandering in the market district, looks like she was doing some shopping." Naruto said thinking on his feet. He could see her visibly relax after his words as Tai looked over at him then back at her before grabbing at his nose.

"Hanabi-sama, if you wanted something you know you could have just asked one of us and we would have retrieved it for you. Running off on your own is completely irresponsible, you're lucky your father is away on business and I was the one who found you. If anyone asks, say you fell asleep within the garden behind some bushes. That was the area I was sent out to look over." Tai said getting a nod from the younger girl. "I would also like to extend a thank you to you Uzumaki-san for returning her safely."

"Thanks, but how do you know my name? I never told you that." Naruto said squinting his eyes at the man. Tai simply blinked in his direction before letting out a nervous laugh that was failing to convince anyone of its genuinity.

"W-well Hanabi-sama I suppose it's time for you to go get cleaned up, I'll arrange for you to have a bath prepared at once!" Tai said quickly trying to change the subject. He tried to push her inside, though the girl protested against his actions.

"No! I have to take Naruto-san to see Onee-chan!" Hanabi yelled as Tai released her from his grip.

"Hinata-sama?" Tai asked looking over at Naruto. "That's right, you did ask about seeing her earlier didn't you?" Sighing, the guard looked around one more time before ushering the two to come inside. "I'll let you visit, but not for long. No one outside of the clan is even supposed to be going near her."

Hanabi flashed Naruto a smile, which he returned fully as they made their way into the main building. Eventually they came upon a room with the door closed, Tai opening it up a little to allow Hanabi and Naruto to go inside. "I'll keep watch from out here."

Nodding, Naruto entered the room first, admiring the traditional decor the inside of the room had. Laying on a bed asleep in the corner of the room was Hinata, her entire forehead covered in bandages along with one on her left cheek. The rest of her body was covered up by the blanket resting over her. Naruto and Hanabi both walked forward and stared at her silently, neither of them moving a muscle as the only sound in the room was the ticking of a clock.

"I can wake her for you if you would like?" Hanabi asked looking up at the blonde. Naruto's eyes stayed glued to her form, a series of emotions running through them that Hanabi still didn't understand at her age. There was one though, that even she could recognize very clearly.

Anger.

"No, that's fine. She probably needs the rest anyway." Naruto said in a low voice. "Seeing her is good enough. I really just needed to confirm something for myself. Reconfirm might be the better word actually." Clutching his fist at his side, Naruto took in a deep breath before letting it out and turning towards the door. "Guess it's time to get to training."

The two exited the room, with Tai accompanying them back to the front gate. Naruto turned around as he got there, flashing Hanabi a grin as he prepared to leave. "Well, I guess I'll see you around Hanabi-chan."

"Really? You'll mean you'll come visit?" The younger girl said, her eyes lightening up with hope. Naruto could tell she was upset with his leaving, which he had to admit actually touched him a little. Though their interactions together were less than an hour in length, he had taken a liking to the girl.

"Of course, you'll be one of the first people I come to when I make it back into the village." He said getting a smile from the girl. Sending a nod in the direction of Tai, who returned it with a smile of his own, Naruto turned to make his way down the street. Hanabi watched his retreating form, squirming a little as she tried to hold her stoic composure.

"See you later Onii-chan!" She yelled out abruptly, throwing her hands over her mouth as she blushed with embarrassment. Naruto stopped walking, turning to give her one last grin before continuing on to the village's gates.

* * *

The sun was starting to set as Naruto finally made his way to the gate. _'I wonder why Jiraiya didn't want to wait until morning to head out? I guess we are a little pressed on time with me having to return before the final exam starts.'_ Naruto said as he walked towards the big structure. Leaning against a nearby wall was Jiraiya, who opened his eyes when Naruto came close and gave a small smirk.

"Ready to go Gaki?" He asked getting a nod from the blonde. Sparring one last look back at the village, Naruto followed after Jiraiya as he checked them out at the village's entrance.

"Have a safe trip!" Kotetsu said from his position leaning back inwards in his chair, balancing a pencil on his nose.

"Looking at you guys, sometimes I wonder if It's worth it becoming a chunin." Naruto said getting a hearty laugh from Jiraiya.

"Hey, I take offense to that! We're very important to the security and defense of the village!" Kotetsu said as the pencil slid off of his nose and fell to the ground. "Damn it! I almost had my record! Izumo, were you keeping time?"

"We're gonna' be stuck at this job forever aren't we." Izumo said holding his head in his arm. Naruto and Jiraiya both shared a laugh as they continued out of the village and onto the road. After a few minutes of walking, Naruto looked up at the man quizzically, nudging him in the arm to catch his attention.

"So, what exactly is the mission we're going out for? You and the old man have been pretty vague about what we're actually doing." Naruto said as Jiraiya hummed in thought.

"Well, to put it simply…" Jiraiya said grabbing at his chin before turning towards Naruto and giving him a wide smile.

"We're returning a princess back to her Kingdom."

* * *

 **Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing so far, you're really helping a first time writer out here.**

 **Looking back, I think Jiraiya might be my favorite character out of the entire Naruto series. I'm going to have a lot of fun writing with him over the next few chapters. Anyways, until next time my guys.**


	14. World's Luckiest Shinobi

**Chapter 14: World's Luckiest Shinobi**

* * *

A day into their trip, Jiraiya decided they were finally far enough from the village to start on Naruto's training. Thus, he was currently busy stretching while Jiraiya watched him with his hand on his chin, figuring out where to start with the boy. As Naruto finished up, Jiraiya clapped his hands together to get his attention.

"Alright gaki, listen up. I don't really knew where to start with you seeing as I have no idea how talented or untalented you are. Therefore, we're going to start things out with light spar so I can get a feel for your level, got that?" He asked getting a nod from the younger boy.

"So, what are the rules for this spar of yours?" Naruto asked cocking his head to the side. Jiraiya rolled his neck to relieve some tension before flashing the blonde a grin.

"None. Absolutely none. Come at me with everything you got, no holding back, and we'll go from there." Jiraiya said as Naruto simply stared at him. He looked as though he was about to respond, but to the older man's surprise he didn't and simply nodded in understanding. Walking over to the boulder Jiraiya was sitting on top of earlier, Naruto took his black tanto from around his back and leaned it against it, getting an eyebrow raise from Jiraiya. "You know you could use that right? I said everything goes."

"I know, but honestly right now it's more of a hassle to have on me than a helpful tool. I still haven't had any training with it." Naruto said frowning down at the object. He had went as far as he could with learning how to use it on his own, but he still was confident in his ability to translate into actual battle. Going up against a Sannin didn't exactly feel like the right time to be trying out things as well he figured.

' _Hmm, I'll have to see what I can do about that.'_ Jiraiya said storing away that bit of information for later. He actually had a plan in mind, but once again that hindered on whether or not they succeeded with this mission. Seeing that Naruto had come to stand in front of him again, Jiraiya sent him nod to show that he could start whenever he was ready. Taking a deep breath, Naruto fell into his taijutsu stance, eyeing Jiraiya critically as he looked for a chance to strike.

Only Jiraiya hadn't made any changes to his stance at all. He simply stood there, not even having his eyes open to watch his opponent. Letting a growl slip out, Naruto was about to charge right in and give him a piece of his mind when he remembered Anko used to do things similar just to rile him up and throw him off of his game. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down before slowly reaching his hand behind his back. Quickly he swung three shurikens in Jiraiya's direction, who simply side stepped to avoid them with his eyes still closed.

That was enough time for Naruto to close in, who feigned a punch at his abdomen before spinning mid attack to launch a kick at his face. Jiraiya caught on to his plan though and managed to catch his kick. His eyes were open now though, which only showed Naruto that he was making progress. He managed to kick himself free from Jiraiya's grip, landing behind him as he quickly closed in again to launch an elbow into his back. Jiraiya dodged it and chopped the boy in the back of his head instead, who was sent forward a lot farther than he thought he would be due to the man's strength.

Gritting his teeth while rubbing the back of his head, Naruto turned around to face Jiraiya, who was smirking down at him. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you plan on even touching me kid."

"Noted." Naruto said throwing his hands into the tiger seal. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Thirty other Naruto's filled the area, circling around Jiraiya as he watched in slight surprise. Looking around, Jiraiya slowly reached up and unhooked the scroll that was on his back, placing it on the ground before standing up again.

"Shadow clone jutsu eh? That's a pretty nifty technique for a genin to have, and you don't seem to be a slacker with it either. Guess you're not lacking in the chakra department huh?" Jiraiya said still seeming at ease even with the current situation at hand. Naruto simply gave the signal for his clones to attack, with all of them charging towards the man at once in a mad dash. Grunting, Jiraiya finally dropped down into his taijutsu stance, looking around to see which clone would reach him first.

Naruto stayed back, wanting to get a feel for how the man moved while he attacked. What he saw however did nothing but put him into a state of awe as Jiraiya quickly yet calculatively maneuvered himself through clone after, most of the time taking out multiple ones at once. All in all, Naruto figured it took him a little over a minute to do away with thirty versions of himself, something that didn't bode well for him in the long run.

' _Well I should've saw that coming, he is one of the legendary Sannin after all.'_ He thought, grunting to himself as he rose back up to his feet. Jiraiya was grinning back at him, which wasn't doing anything to help his sour mode.

"Congratulations, you've managed to make me sweat. A single drop that is. Don't worry though, a lot of people don't even get that far."

"Cocky bastard." Naruto grumbled standing up again. He made five more clones, all of which stood behind him glaring at the man similar to him.

"Oh? Only five this time? Tired of seeing your ass getting kicked already huh?" Jiraiya taunted as Naruto held back a growl. Taking a deep breath, the boy charged forward this time jumping up into the air land behind Jiraiya. He once again launched himself towards the man's back, though this time he wasn't able to turn around as one of the clones was charging from the front as well. Sliding to the side to dodge both, he reacted quickly and caught the punch of another clone with both hands, grunting a little at the strength shown from the boy.

' _That's four, where the hell is the oth-'_ Jiraiya thought to himself before a kick to the back of his head served as his answer. Stumbling forward, he grabbed at the area as the clones all dispersed, leaving a smirking Naruto alone as he stared the man down. Getting himself together, Jiraiya returned the boy's smirk as he turned around to face him. "Not bad kid, you actually managed to hit me. You're doing much better than I expected." With these words it was brought back to Naruto's attention that this was a spar to see how far along he was, and that Jiraiya likely wasn't taking this seriously at all. "Let's see how you do on defense though."

"Say whaa?" Naruto said dumbfounded before Jiraiya disappeared from where he was standing. Before the blonde could even react, Jiraiya was in front of him and had planted a fist firmly in his stomach. The pain was so much that Naruto was left speechless, slowly backing away with his mouth agape while holding his stomach. Eventually his legs gave out under him and he collapsed onto knees, bending over and trying desperately to catch his breath.

"Don't tell me one attack was enough to put you down for the count." Jiraiya said frowning for the first time in this match. "Get up."

Grunting, Naruto managed to slowly rise back up to his feet. His breathing was slowly evening out as he dropped back down into his taijutsu stance, this time looking much more focused than before. Figuring he was ready to go, Jiraiya charged forward again, planning to recreate the same attack he just did. To his surprise, and joy, Naruto managed to actually dodge it this time, as well as the kick he sent the boys way for added measure.

' _Not bad, I was actually moving fast enough in hopes that he wouldn't be able to dodge these attacks so I could see how good his endurance was. He's really doing way better than I expected.'_ Jiraiya thought to himself as Naruto landed a few feet away from him. _'His dodging is very last minute though, almost as if he's more so reacting than planning ahead. This kid's instincts must be off the charts. Let's see how handle's this though.'_

Moving to get in close, Jiraiya threw a punch that Naruto easily dodged, as well as the next three that was sent his way. He even managed to flip over the elder man's back, which would've been a perfect time for a counter attack only jiraiya didn't give him time as he quickly recovered and began to push the boy back with a barrage of kicks and punches.

For the most Naruto was able to keep up, dodging those that he could and deflecting those that he couldn't. As the onslaught continued on though, more and more of Jiraiya's attacks were starting to get through, with him eventually hitting Naruto with a roundhouse kick that sent the blonde flying. Recovering on the ground with a roll, Naruto positioned himself on his knee again, holding his stomach as he panted heavily across from the man.

' _If it keeps going like this I'm not going to last long. Each one of his hits feel like you're running into a break wall. I doubt there's a person in the world who could hit harder than this.'_ Naruto said catching his breath. _'Let's see how you handle this though.'_

Still not standing up, Naruto began to perform a set of hand signs, catching Jiraiya's attention as he wondered what the boy had up his sleeve. His face didn't hide his surprise when air visibly began to swirl around the boy's right arm, swirling in an erratic spiral. Grinning, Naruto looked up at the man as his hand now looked to be completely absorbed in a mini tornado.

" **Wind Gale Thrust!"** He yelled before launching himself forward with the attack whirling behind him. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he waited for the right moment before expertly dodging the boy's thrust and pushing him behind him. To his surprise however, Naruto simply turned in mid air, pointing the arm with the technique in Jiraiya's direction. "Tell me how ya' like this one!"

To Jiraiya's shock the, attack launched from the boy's arm and came directly upon him, giving him only enough time to put his arms up in defense as the attack hit him dead on and sent him sprawling across the field. Naruto landed on the ground, sliding to a stop as he watched the attack push the older man back quite a distance. Eventually it died down, and when the dust cleared Naruto could see Jiraiya was still standing in his protective stance, though the sleeves on his arms were gone and they were noticeably marked up.

Dropping them down to his side, Jiraiya stared over at the boy emotionlessly, making him believe that he had actually made the elder man mad until a small smile finally broke out on his face.

"You...you are really something else you know that? That last attack was phenomenal!" Jiraiya said now grinning over at the boy. "It was so good in fact that I feel the need to repay you!"

"Repay me? What do you mean by that-" Naruto said before the wind around the area began to pick up. In Jiraiya's right hand now was what Naruto could only describe as a spinning blue orb of chakra, and from both the sound and wind presence it was causing, it was pretty damn powerful. "Oh, so that's what you meant by that…"

"Don't die." Jiraiya said with a smile as he dashed forward. Naruto tried to move out of the way, but Jiraiya had already grabbed him by the arm and held in his place. Thrusting the attack forward, he stopped it just before it reach the boy's stomach, and instead of striking him with it, he allowed the attack to disperse. The result was basically the same as that of a small wind bomb going off, blowing Naruto high and far away into the sky, propelled by huge swirling bursts of winds. The boy landed quite a bit of distance away, falling with a thud on the ground motionless. Jiraiya whistled at how far he had flew before deciding to go check on him.

"Hey kid, you're not dead right?" Jiraiya said finally walking up towards him. Naruto was still laying on his back, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath through the pain. He then began to cough, a lot, which Jiraiya simply took as confirmation that he was still alive. "Well that's good."

"Ughh." Naruto groaned, slowly rising up to a sitting position. He looked over at his left arm, which had clearly been knocked out of it's socket during the impact of the blast, and looked to be broken. Naruto however simply grabbed it with his other hand and, with an exerting grunt, popped it back in place, seemingly doing the same with the broken bone that was slightly bulging against his skin. "That's better."

"Disgusting." Jiraiya remarked grimacing slightly at the sight. _'Still, the Kyuubi's healing rate must be something special if he's able to fix things just like that.'_

"I don't think I want to spar with you anymore." Naruto said grabbing at his head in a daze. "In fact I don't think I wanna' do anything anymore, I'm gonna' just take a little nap…"

"Ohh no you don't kid, not in that state." Jiraiya said shaking him for good measure. "Concussion protocol."

"I've never had a concussion in my life." Naruto said grabbing at his head. "Then again, I don't think I've ever been hit this hard in my head, repeatedly for that matter, in my life as well. Not since the incident…"

"Incident?" Jiraiya asked looking at the blonde curiously. Naruto still seemed to be in a slight daze, but was slowly starting to become functional again. Shaking his head to clear up a few of the cobwebs still there, Naruto blinked before looking up at the man.

"So, how did I do?" He asked catching Jiraiya off guard again.

"Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I think I could not teach you an entire thing this trip and there'd still be no possible way you'd fail that chunin exam." Jiraiya said getting a wide eyed look from the boy. "You did much better than even my highest expectations."

Naruto looked up at the man blankly for a moment, not saying a word before turning forward with a shit eating grin. "I always knew I was awesome."

"Calm down brat, I was exaggerating with that whole not teach you a thing skit." Jiraiya said standing up. "From what I hear this year's crop of genin are some of the best in years, you could still probably get embarrassed if you start slacking now."

"Great," Naruto said sarcastically looking at him with half lidded eyes. "So what are ya' gonna' teach me?"

"Not sure yet, I'm going to have to come up with a more dedicated plan than I had in mind previously considering your level." Jiraiya said grabbing his chin. "Guess I'll have to sleep on it."

"Great, let's do that then." Naruto said before collapsing into the grass behind him. Jiraiya was worried for a moment before the sound of light snoring reached his ear, getting the older man to smile as he realized the boy was just sleeping. Hoisting him up on his back, Jiraiya chuckled as he moved to make their way towards a hotel for the night.

' _You two made an interesting one, I can say that much.'_

* * *

The next morning mostly consisted of Naruto waiting for Jiraiya to wake up from whatever exploits he had gotten into the previous night while the blonde was sleeping. Eventually the two were back on the road again, with him following the Sannin almost entirely silent. This didn't go unnoticed by Jiraiya, who was told by the Hokage that Naruto was usually rather talkative and energetic. So far on this trip, he had rarely displayed any of those traits.

"So gaki," Jiraiya asked getting Naruto to stare up at him. "You've already had contact with the Kyuubi before right? The old man said something about that earlier."

"Well, I've talked to him...her? A few times I guess. I wouldn't exactly consider them interactions though, mostly just berating at my expense." Naruto said with a grunt staring forward. Jiraiya nodded at those words, scratching at his face in thought before stopping.

"So, have you tried to consciously draw on its power yet?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto stopped as well to look back at him. Seeing the boy shake his head to show that he hadn't, Jiraiya grinned as he took off the scroll on his back and sat it on the ground, with him sitting on top of it and holding his face in his hand. "Great! How about you try doing it right now."

"Excuse me?" Naruto said looking at him with a lost expression. "You want me to do what?"

"I want you to try to pull out the Kyuubi's chakra on your own, without needing to be stimulated." Jiraiya said yawning into his hand. "Come on kid you're burning precious daylight here."

"For one we wouldn't be pressed for _precious daylight_ if someone didn't decide to sleep until the afternoon." Naruto said as Jiraiya cleaned out his ear. "Secondly, how the hell would I even go about doing that. Better yet, why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Because whether you like it or not, the Kyuubi's inside of you and seeing as you can use it's power, you should. In terms of how you should go about doing it, that's up to you to figure out. So hop to it!" Jiraiya finished clapping his hands together. Sighing, Naruto threw his bag on the floor and sat down in a meditating position next to it. For a moment he simply sat there, unsure of what he should be doing next. He then figured that the best way to go about it was a direct approach, and figured he needed to go inside to...wherever he went when he would have his conversations with the biju.

Closing his eyes, he tried to picture what the place looked like at first. When that wasn't working, he decided to focus on the Kyuubi specifically, and sure enough he began to feel a pull on his conscious. "Aw crap…" He mumbled before losing consciousness, his body becoming limp in the outside world.

Inside of his head, Naruto woke up with a start, noting that this time he didn't wake up in the hallway as usual but directly in the room where the Kyuubi rested. Speaking of which, said biju was currently snoring away in front of the blonde, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Standing up to his feet, Naruto cleared his throat before trying to get the fox's attention. "H-hello?"

The Kyuubi's eyes opened slowly, peering down at the boy before closing again as it seemingly let out a sigh. **"So you've figured out how to enter here on your own. Isn't that just swell?"**

"Snarky bastard…" Naruto grumbled under his breath before scratching at his head. "So like, could you...throw me some power maybe?" Naruto continued cringing at how awkward that come out. At first the Kyuubi was silent, which unnerved Naruto as he was sure the fox heard him. He jumped a little when it rose its head however, now staring Naruto squarely in the face.

" **You want to use my power?"** It said in a long drawn out fashion. **"And what exactly is there to gain from me allowing you to do so?"**

"Well, I mean, the chances of me dying would probably drop significantly if you do so. Which means the chances of you dying would drop...significantly if you do so." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head with a nervous smile. The Kyuubi stared at him before returning back to his sleeping position, flaring his tails behind him as he hummed to himself.

" **You're smug attitude is very resemblant of** _ **that**_ **man. It honestly does nothing but make my desire to kill you even stronger. Still, you raise an interesting point, you're survival is vital to me even if I plan on doing so in the long run regardless."** The Kyuubi said as the room began to grow hotter. The red lines running throughout the metallic interior began to glow brightly, much like they did the last time Naruto was present. **"You may call on my power whenever you see fit, that's how this seal was made to be used in fact. But be careful,"** The Fox said as it rose up to it's full height glaring down at Naruto as the entire room seemed to be covered in the red light now. **"Get to greedy and I might start to have my way with this puny little mind of yours."**

Before Naruto could react, he was kicked out of his mindstate and back into the real world, where he hadn't moved a muscle since he left. Jiraiya however had brought his head up from off of his hand, and was now looking at the boy with his mouth agape. Frowning, Naruto stood up from his sitting position and looked down at his hands, noting that his nails had become noticeable more like claws and that their was a very slight red hue of chakra flowing off of his body. Getting an idea in his head, Naruto made a shadow clone of himself in order to get a full view of what he looked like. His eyes widened as well as the clone's when they both got a look at each other.

As he already knew, his nails had grown longer and his body was giving off a slight, red hue of chakra. What shocked him most however was his eyes, as both of them now sported slitted Irises and had a more feral look to them. The biggest change however was that one of them, the right one specifically, had now become bloodshot red while the other stayed the same cerulean blue color it had been before. His hair had also became slightly more spikier, and his whiskers were much more pronounced than before.

"What the hell?" Naruto said looking himself over as the clone dispersed. He looked back up to Jiraiya, who was now watching the boy with a calculative look on his face. "Is this what's supposed to happen?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. You're definitely giving off the feel of the Kyuubi's chakra, though it's not as potent as I expected. How do you feel?"

"Fine I guess. A little restless maybe?" Naruto said looking back down at his hands. "This doesn't feel anything like it did back in the wave. I really don't feel any different than before."

"Lay down for a second gaki, there's something I want to check on." Jiraiya said as Naruto complied. Reaching down, he unzipped the boy's jacket and lifted up his shirt, getting Naruto to jump up away from the man screaming.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you pervert!" Naruto yelled clutching at his clothes. He was about to continue when Jiraiya punched him on the head, stopping the boy from going on one of his infamous tirades.

"Calm down, I was just trying to check on your seal and make sure everything's still working properly." Jiraiya said irritatedly. Naruto grumbled some more about him still being a pervert but ultimately ended up laying back down as Jiraiya lifted his shirt again. Peering down, Naruto's eyes bulged as he took notice of the seal that was on his stomach.

"Wow, how have I _not_ noticed that yet." Naruto said as Jiraiya continued to examine it.

"It's not that hard to fathom that you haven't ever noticed it before, the seal only shows itself when you're drawing on a lot of chakra. I'd like to take it you don't throw your shirt off and charge up your chakra to high amounts often." Jiraiya said as he continued to examine it.

' _Amazing, I can't believe Minato was able to pull this off so perfectly considering the situation he was in.'_ Jiraiya thought to himself. _'It perfectly merges the boy's chakra with the Kyuubi's as soon as it leaks out, making it almost impossible for it's chakra, and therefore influence, to override Naruto's. Assuming he doesn't try to take on more than his body can handle that is.'_ Nodding to himself, Jiraiya stood up with Naruto following his lead shortly after.

"So, did you get anything out of all of that staring or should we have a do over?" Naruto asked sarcastically as Jiraiya grunted at the boy.

"Oh I got something from it gaki. That the Fourth Hokage was even more special than I realized, and I taught him for that matter." Jiraiya said in a mixture of awe and pride. Naruto snorted as he put his hands in his pockets, kicking at the dirt around him.

"Oh yeah, he was great alright, with his picking up random orphan babies and stuffing crazy powerful entities of chakra inside of them. Yup, the greatest."

"Wow, I didn't know you even knew what the word entity meant, let alone how to use it in a sentence." Jiraiya said getting the finger from the blonde. _'Still, guess the old man didn't tell the boy about his heritage yet. Maybe I should...nah, would probably be better to wait on that front. Especially if that's how he views his father at the moment.'_

"Well regardless of this or that, today has been rather enlightening once again. Think you can exit out of that form for me?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto stared at him weirdly before remembering that he was still drawing on the Kyuubi's power. Closing his eyes, he found it was much easier to cut off the connection than he thought, returning to his regular self as Jiraiya nodded in approvement. "Good, now you know how to properly draw on the Kyuubi's power, and as a far I see you can use a good amount of it without any negative repercussions."

"Actually, I feel a little tired." Naruto said grabbing at his head, getting Jiraiya to waive him off as he chuckled at his words.

"That happens anytime your body uses more chakra than it's accustomed to, it'll wear off sooner or later." Jiraiya said before getting a little more serious. "Now, you said you pulled on the Kyuubi's chakra before right? And that it was different?"

"Well yeah," Naruto said scratching at his head. "Back then it felt a lot less like I was in control and more like my body was moving on it's own will. The appearance was different too, instead of a red hue it was more like a red cloak, and they said that both of my eyes were red, not just one. I also felt a lot more angry and violent, though that was probably more so because of the situation…" Naruto trailed off as his mind went back to what happened back then. Jiraiya could tell by the Icy look in his eyes that they weren't exactly fond memories he was thinking off, and clapped his hands together to get the boy's attention again.

"Well I guess when can chalk that up to what starts to happen when you begin losing control." Jiraiya said. "Anything special about that situation that had you so pressed?"

"What, besides it being the worst day of my life?" Naruto mumbled looking away. "I was getting my ass handed to me, my team was getting their ass handed to them. The situation was special alright. A shitty special."

"Well what ended up breaking you out of that state?" Jiraiya asked. He didn't really want to keep pressing the situation seeing as Naruto clearly didn't want to focus on it, but he needed to know everything in order to make sense of the situation. He immediately regretted asking however when he notice the glossy stare Naruto had taking on and how stiff he had gotten. The blonde boy sat down slowly, looking out over towards where the sun was now starting to set. Jiraiya stood next to him, not saying a word as Naruto continued to stare out in silence.

"I killed someone…"

' _Yeah, that'll do it for you.'_

"...that I loved."

' _Aw crap baskets.'_

The two sat in silence after that, with Jiraiya not entirely sure what to say or if he should even say anything at all. Eventually, Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, hiding the lower half of his face in the process. "Jiraiya?"

"Yeah gaki?" The older man said looking over at him. Naruto was quiet once again, looking out at the sunset for a minute before continuing.

"What do you think our purpose as shinobi is?" He asked getting the white haired man to look over in confusion.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The old man once told me that the purpose of a shinobi was to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. That we were supposed to devote ourselves to the greater good." Naruto said peering down at the ground. "But it seems like the deeper I get into it, the less I'm able to tell what exactly the greater good _is._ Not only that, but is it even worth protecting if we have to do things just as horrible to attain it?"

"I mean, when you think about it, would people even need protection if it wasn't for shinobi? What if we're more to do with the problem than the solution? All we do is continue in a cycle, war and peace, war and peace, war and peace, it's never ending. We fight and kill, even those we love, for what we believe is the greater good. And they do the same. Who's to say that the people we're fighting against aren't the ones who're right? It's all pretty fucked if you ask me."

Jiraiya whistled as the boy finished his mini speech. "You've obviously been giving this a lot of thought I see."

"Yeah well when it's the only thing that's been on your mind the past few months you tend to do that." Naruto said still folded up inside of his knees. Silence fell back over the two as Jiraiya thought of how he wanted to word his thoughts. Naruto was beginning to think the man would never respond when suddenly he stood up.

"So essentially what you're telling me is, because it's never been done before, we should give up on trying to attain permanent peace?" Jiraiya said as Naruto looked up to him.

"Well, I mean, I don't know if giving up is the answer…"

"But like you said, we as humans, shinobi especially, are constantly stuck in a cycle of war and peace. A cycle of hate. I mean, if the shinobi of the past were as great as they were and couldn't bring a stop to it, then why the hell should we even try to do it? It's obviously a futile effort." Jiraiya said nodding to himself. "We might as well quit while we're ahead, don't you agree?"

"Look, I know what you're trying do here. It's not going to work." Naruto said turning back towards the setting sun. Jiraiya scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Really, I don't know what else I expected from you. I mean you seemed a little broody but to think you had a stick this far up your ass." He said. Naruto growled slightly under his breath, but let out a sigh to calm himself down and not let the man get under his skin. "I don't know what the old man was talking about when he said you held the strongest will of fire he had seen in years, all I see is a little gaki who couldn't handle finding out the real world isn't as rose colored as he expected."

"Whatever," Naruto said getting up to leave. "You have no idea how I'm feeling anyways."

"No idea? Let me tell you something kid, I know more about how you're feeling than even _you_ do. I've been in your situation before, and that little cycle of war and peace you're talking about? Well, imagine feeling like this on the not so happy side of it." Jiraiya said kneeling down to his eye level. "I was actually inside the heart of a war, the worst one we've ever had as a matter of fact. I've seen humans at their very worst, doing things you couldn't even fathom. Hell, I was _best friends_ with people who've committed some of the worst atrocities known to man. I know a little something about losing faith in men."

"Then why do you still fight?" Naruto asked looking up to stare him back in the eye. Jiraiya's gaze softened as he turned to face the last of the sun falling over the horizon.

"Because while I've seen people at that their worst, and what evil they're capable of, I've also seen the good they can do as well. As much evil as there is in the world, there's just as much as good to balance it out." Jiraiya said turning to look at him. "It's really just a matter of breaking that balance and tipping the good side to the better end of the scale. If we can reach a level of understanding between each other, understanding that while we all experience different forms of pain, we can heal each other from it in the same ways. That living in harmony is a way for us to truly understand each other, I believe world peace would be very achievable."

"And how do we do that?" Naruto asked listening intently. Jiraiya scratched his head before grinning over at him sheepishly.

"Honestly, even I haven't figured that part out yet. I do believe though, that someday someone will come along with that answer. And hopefully I'll play a hand in helping that person achieve that goal of ours." Jiraiya said smiling faintly. Naruto watched him for a moment before turning to face forward again.

"That's all a load of crap and I'm angry that I'm letting it move me." Naruto replied getting a hefty laugh from Jiraiya. "So that's your goal in life, to achieve world peace?"

"Well, that's one of em' at least. There's also this woman with this huge rack that I wa-"

"Alrighttttt, well then Ero-sennin, seeing as I'm going to be your best pupil after all I guess I'll have to help you out on that front." Naruto said smirking and standing up to stretch.

"Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya replied looking up at the blonde. Naruto let out a smile before a huge smirk formed on his face.

"Man, I really can't believe I let those words of yours get to me so heavily. Still, I don't think I've been this inspired in a long time." Naruto said turning to face him. "But if someone like you, seeing all that you have, can still have faith in the world, than so can I."

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you this energized gaki." Jiraiya said smiling as he got up to his feet as well. "This is more of what I was expecting when the old man described you to me."

"Fret not Ero-sennin, I'm definitely out of my funk." Naruto said throwing both of his arms up as if he was trying to hug the air.

"Naruto Uzumaki is back in full form!"

"Really, well that's great!" Jiraiya said patting him on the back. "Now let's head on out, we've got a lot of ground to cover over the next few hours!"

"Eh? You do know it's night time right?" Naruto asked looking back at him.

"What? Not my fault you chose to sleep most of the day away and forced us to fall behind on schedule. No complaining my friend, it's time to move out!"

"...But you're the one who slept in la-"

"Enough with the semantics, we're leaving!" Jiraiya said walking back towards the main road. Naruto watched his retreating form with a deadpanned stare before sighing and scratching the back of his head.

"I honestly don't know if I like this guy or not…"

* * *

 **(The Next Morning)**

Naruto and Jiraiya continued to travel throughout the night, resting once again in the morning when they reached another small town. It was now the afternoon, and they were preparing to head out again after Jiraiya had grabbed some balloons of all things.

"So, who exactly is this princess we're looking for? You guys have been rather vague on that front this entire time." Naruto asked as the man finally returned.

"Oh? You didn't know who we were talking about?" Jiraiya asked as he filled one of the balloons with water. "It's Tsunade-hime."

"Who the hell is Tsun-wait, you mean _thee_ Tsunade-san, of the legendary sannin?" Naruto asked a little in disbelief. When Jiraiya nodded to confirm his thoughts, Naruto's eyes lit up a little as he turned around excitedly. "Wow, I'm going to be in the company of two of the legendary Sannin, that's a little wild to think about."

"If you say so gaki, catch this." Jiraiya said tossing one of the balloons towards Naruto. "It's time for us to officially start your first training session."

"Really? It's about damn time! So...what the hell am I going to do with this?" Naruto asked holding the balloon filled with water up. Jiraiya grinned as he did the same, palming his balloon directly in the blonde's face. A moment later, it began to convulse and rumble about, getting Naruto to peer a little closer before finally the balloon popped, effectively soaking the boy in the process.

"You're going to be doing that." Jiraiya said, ignoring the miffed looked Naruto was giving him.

"And what exactly did you do besides ruining my clothes?" Naruto asked sliding his jacket off and tying it around his waist.

"Well, what I just did was show you the first step you're going to need in order to learn how to perform the technique I showed you back when we were sparring." Jiraiya said as Naruto's mouth dropped. "That's right kid, I'm going to be teaching you the rasengan, the second move my humble student the Fourth was known for creating."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?! So what do I gotta' do?" Naruto asked letting his excitement get the best of him. Jiraiya chuckled as he pulled out another one of the balloons, once again holding it out for Naruto to see.

"The first exercise is to help you learn how to outwardly manipulate and control your chakra. In order to pop the balloon successfully, you need to be able to move your chakra in multiple directions at once while also outputting enough to be able to manipulate the water and pop the balloon." Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded in understanding, getting the gist of what Jiraiya was talking about.

"Let's see…" Naruto said closing his eyes. Grunting, he began trying to do exactly what Jiraiya had said to do. At first nothing happened, but soon the balloon began to convulse much like Jiraiya's had earlier. It almost look as though he would get it on his first try when suddenly one side of the balloon bursted, causing the water to leak out. Jiraiya let out a sigh as Naruto drop the object to the ground in disappointment.

' _Almost thought he would get it done in one try.'_ The older man thought to himself as Naruto reached down for another balloon. "Come on gaki, you can keep trying while we're on the move."

"Speaking of being on the move, where exactly are we going? I'm assuming you already know where we can find Tsunade-san at right?" Naruto asked focusing on another balloon. Once again the balloon began to convulse, but one side gave out before the entire thing popped. "Fuck!"

"Language gaki," Jiraiya said getting a glare from the boy. "And in response to your question, I have an Idea of where she is. We should be getting a confirmation in a couple days or so."

"So where exactly is this place?" Naruto asked looking up.

"Kumogakure."

"The hell, I just left from there!" Naruto said accidentally dropping one of the balloons. "What the hells in Kumo?"

"What do you think kid, she's there for the festival that comes along with the chunin exams. I'd imagine she's somewhere gambling away her retirement fund…" Jiraiya said to himself with a faint smile. "Depending on how things go, we might not actually return to the village before it's time for you get back into the exams."

Noticing how quiet the blonde was being in response, Jiraiya looked over to see him staring down at one of the balloons in focus. It was once again convulsing, but this time it lasted much longer than before. Grunting, a trickle of sweat ran down his face as the convulsing got worse, and finally to the shock of Jiraiya the balloon popped. Jiraiya's jaw dropped as Naruto stared down at his now wet hand, a goofy grin forming on his face. "Oh I am so awesome."

"Well, there goes my plan for the rest of the week." Jiraiya said in disbelief. _'I actually expected him to get through this part rather quickly, his wind thrust gale technique basically functions on the same foundation as this training. Still, he hasn't even been at this for 20 minutes!'_

"So what's the next step to this training." Naruto asked grinning up at Jiraiya. The older man scratched the back of his head as he look down the road in thought.

"Well, we can't move onto the next stage until I got my hands on some hollow rubber balls so...I guess we'll have to find something else for you to do." Jiraiya said rubbing his chin. Naruto blinked before snapping his fingers as if an idea popped in his head, getting Jiraiya to look over at him.

"Hey, do you have any lightening techniques you can teach me? Asuma-sensei could only teach me wind style techniques since he doesn't have an affinity for it." Naruto said remembering their previous conversation about his chakra styles.

"Lightening eh? Well it's not exactly my forte per say but I think I can help you out in that regards. I know someone who's pretty great at it, you'll have to wait until we're in Kumogakure though." Jiraiya said getting a slight pout form the blonde.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do until then?" Naruto asked before a book smacked him in the face. He was about to launch it back at the man before he stopped to look at the cover. "Beginners Guide to Becoming a Sealing Master by…Minato Namikaze." Naruto finished looking up at Jiraiya. "What's this?"

"You just said it gaki, it's a book about sealing from the Fourth himself. I think it would really do you some good to learn some sealing techniques kid. Who knows, you might find out that you're good at it." Jiraiya said as Naruto continued to stare at the book. Humming to himself, Naruto shrugged before cracking it open to the first page.

"Guess I'll give it a shot…" Naruto mumbled before falling a little quiet. Jiraiya smiled as he turned to continue down the road.

' _Ahh, peace and quiet.'_

Eventually a few hours passed as night fell over the two. Much to Jiraiya's surprise, Naruto was pretty much engrossed in the book for almost the entirety of their walk, only just now closing the book for the first time since he opened it.

"I need a break." Naruto said sighing as he closed it. Jiraiya chuckled as the boy stretched noisily.

"You've been at it for four hours straight, I'm surprised you lasted that long. I was expecting you to throw the book back at me fifteen minutes in." Jiraiya said as Naruto simply waved him off.

"Why does everyone like to attack my intelligence?" Naruto said sighing. "So hey...what can you tell me about about Tsunade-san?"

Jiraiya hummed to himself as he thought over what to tell him. "Well, when she was younger she had a pretty vibrant and colorful personality. Short temper and violent though." Jiraiya said with a chuckle.

"Had? Did something happen?" Naruto asked picking up on how Jiraiya's words were sounding much more nostalgic than current.

"Well, people change gaki. You get older and the experiences you go through shape who you are. We've all changed." Jiraiya said staring forward. "In terms of now, she's mostly the same as she was when were little. Just a little more...bitchy."

"Bitchy?"

"Bitchy. Lot's and lot's more bitchy. You should probably be prepared for that by the way cause I get the feeling you're going to bring that side out of her rather easily." Jiraiya said thinking of how the two would interact with each other. He honestly couldn't wait for that little spectacle.

"So I'm guessing you've changed over time too huh? How so?" Naruto asked.

"I got more awesome." Jiraiya said grinning to himself. "And much more handsomer if the ladies are anything to go off of."

"Right." Naruto said squinting up at him. "Whatever you say Ero-sennin, how much longer until we get in Kumogakure?"

"We'll be in the area in a couple of hours, probably reach the village after another day or so." Jiraiya said. "Why?"

"Well, it's just...I feel like I'm lacking on my training. I'm already a week into my break, I've only got three left and it feels like I haven't really done anything." Naruto said squinting his eyes. "It's a lot of strong opponents in this tournament, I want to make sure I'm ready to take them all on."

"I already told you gaki, as far as I'm concerned you're already ready for the tournament as you are. I see where you're coming from though, so how about I give you a little trump card." Jiraiya said smiling.

"Oh yeah? What's it going to be?" Naruto asked getting a little excited at the thought of being taught a trump card by someone like Jiraiya.

"I'm going to teach you the summoning jutsu." Jiraiya said as Naruto's eyes grew wide. "It's a pretty advanced technique, and can be the difference maker in not only a lot of battle's but mission's as well."

"Well how the hell do I do it? Will I get something cool like dragon's or tigers?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya put up a hand to stop him.

"Well, I guess you have two options in that regard. You can either sign the scroll I have with me here and join the prestigious toad clan. Membership. Or you can try your luck and use the summoning technique without signing a scroll before hand." Jiraiya said.

"What happens if I use it without signing a contract first?" Naruto asked cocking his head to the side.

"Well, you'll be transported to the land of whatever summoning animal you're most compatible with. From there, it'll be up to them whether or not you're able to sign the contract. At best, they'll let you sign it without even giving you a test. Worst case scenario, you get killed on the spot." Jiraiya replied, Naruto swallowing a knot in his throat as he finished. "So what's it going to be kid?"

"I...I think i'm going to try my luck on this one. Show me the hand seals." Naruto said seriously, getting a nod from the older man. Jiraiya slowly went through the hand seals, making sure Naruto had them down completely before stepping back to give him some space. Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked back up at Jiraiya one last time. "If I don't come back, tell my family I-oh. Walked yourself right into that one Naruto…"

Sighing, Naruto bit his thumb before performing the hand signs, dropping down on one knee and slamming his hand on the ground. **"Summoning Jutsu!"**

Black markings spreaded out from his position on the ground, and instantly he disappeared in a poof, leaving Jiraiya alone on the side of the road. Scratching his head, Jiraiya stared at the spot the blonde was with a little bit of worry in his eyes.

"Maybe it wasn't the best idea to let the kid do something that dangerous...Oh well, I'm sure he'll be fine!" Jiraiya said shrugging it off and turning to continue down the road. "Let's hope he gets a summoning animal that's not opposed to rude gaki's."

* * *

"AAAHHHHHH-ooof!" Naruto yelled as he landed on the ground face down. Moaning to himself, he slowly rose up to his knees, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs clouding his thoughts. He clutched his finger on the grass beneath him, noting that it was a lot taller than what he had been previously walking on with Jiraiya. Turning around, he failed to hold in a gasp as he took in the scenery around him. He was in the middle of a grassland, with a deep and tall forest facing him a little distance away. Turning around, he notice that a few miles off in the opposite direction was what looked like a desert, completely contradicting what was on the other side of it.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he got up to his feet. Looking around, he was about to start moving when the sound of shuffling somewhere within the tall grass caught his attention. Senses on full alert, Naruto quickly scanned the area with his eyes, his ears tracking down the sound of the movement as best as they could. He eventually noticed a slight shifting in one area of the field, with the grass slowly moving to the side as whatever it was crept closer to the blonde. Crouching down low, Naruto prepared to react to whatever it was coming towards him. Just as it was about to jump out, Naruto himself jumped into the air hoping to avoid whatever it was.

"What the-" He yelled as the animal jumped much higher than he had expected. It landed on his chest, effectively knocking the blonde's balance off as he fell to the ground and landed on his back. Blinking his eyes open, he peered down at his chest to see what the weight he felt belonged too. His eyes widened as he finally saw what it was. "Foxy-kun!"

The small fox yelped in reply, licking his face as Naruto picked him up. Greetings done, Naruto held him out arms length to get a good look at him. "It really is you! What are you doing out here buddy, I thought we had lost you or you went back into the wild. Although I guess this is the wild now that I think about it." Naruto said looking around. The fox yelped again before squirming a little, prompting Naruto to put him down. He walked a few steps forward before turning back towards the boy, rubbing at his nose with one of his paws.

"You want me to follow you?" Naruto asked getting up. The fox turned back around and took off towards the forest like area Naruto had seen earlier. Shrugging, Naruto figured the fox probably knew his way around the area better than he did and followed after him. The red creature would periodically stop to make sure he hadn't lost the blonde before continuing deeper into the forest, with Naruto taking in the scenery as they continued on.

Though he couldn't tell for sure, he had the distinct feeling that they were being watched. He peered around every now and then just to make sure, but ultimately his findings always came up short. Eventually after about an hour of traveling the fox stopped by a river, turning back around to face Naruto.

"What is it little buddy?" Naruto asked looking down at him. Peering up at the river, he saw that it was rather deep and the current was decently strong. "I see, you need my help crossing over."

Picking him up, Naruto froze as once again his senses went off. He felt the feeling of eyes being on him, prompting him to turn around and stare into the area they just came from. His view was entirely filled with trees and forestry though, preventing him from noticing anything out of the ordinary. Chalking it up to his paranoia again, he picked up the fox and made his way across the river, placing it back down on the ground when they were safely across. It shook its fur to shake of the little water that had got on it before continuing on. It followed the river they had just cross, going up stream as it climbed over the rising terrain. Naruto was starting to get a little antsy with how long they had been traveling when they finally made it to a sight that took his breath away.

They were facing facing a rather large waterfall, which set a barely noticeable haze over the area. On each side of the small body of water that led to the river they previously followed where eight stone like pillars, decent sized and round in shape. On each pillars were markers, all of which looked to be the silhouette of a fox in various positions and circumstances. What really caught his attention however, was how on each pillar stood a sitting fox, all of varying sizes and shapes, who seemed to be focusing squarely on the blonde. They seemed to get bigger the closer they got to the waterfall, with the final two being the same size as Naruto's own height.

"What the...what the hell is this?" Naruto mumbled as he simply stood there staring in disbelief. The feeling of something rubbing against his ankle caught his attention as he looked down to see the fox rubbing against him, prompting him to follow it towards the waterfall. Naruto was hesitant, especially since it meant walking through the other foxes. He steeled his nerves though and began to follow after him, glancing nervously at the other foxes who continued to follow him with their heads almost robotically.

While walking through, Naruto managed to get a better look at what the drawings on the stones consisted of. One displayed a fox with a man standing next to him, a spear like object in his hand as they looked to be preparing for battle. Another showed one seemingly in the middle of a fight with a snake, which Naruto found especially cool looking. One of the pillars closer to the waterfall showed a fox stalking behind a bird, and another had fire spewing from his mouth.

"I wonder if they all mean something…" Naruto said stopping to look at one curiously. A yip form his little partner brought him back into focus as he apologized and continued on following him.

Soon they made it to the waterfall, with Naruto letting out a sigh feeling a huge relief in making it there in one piece. The little fox spared him one last look before jumping into the water, disappearing behind it and leaving Naruto alone. Blinking, the blonde stared at the spot where it was just a few moments ago before scratching at his head. Turning around, the sight of the other foxes still staring at him quietly unnerved him enough that he knew it was no turning back at that point. Swallowing the knot in his throat, he turned back towards the waterfall and prepared to hop in. "God damn voodoo priestess…"

With that, he jumped into the waterfall, landing on the other side but not being able to see momentarily as he shook the water off his face and hair. Finally opening his eyes, he was first surprised to find that what he entered didn't look like a cave as he was expecting, but more like an enlarged version of a traditional japanese room. He found the fox he knew sitting down calmly with his tail slowly swaying behind him. It was what he was sitting in front of however that really caught Naruto's attention.

Two jet black foxes stood on either side of what looked like a large thrown, though it was covered in a full coating of brown fur. Laid out across the throne was a regular full sized fox with bright, full white fur. A grey streak ran on its under side, keeping it from being a complete albino. It appeared to be sleeping, which somewhat reminded Naruto of the Kyuubi in a sense. Almost as if on cue though, its eyes opened, exposing its bright, piercing light blue eyes that settled directly on Naruto. Oddly enough, Naruto didn't find the gaze intimidating or threatening like the others, but more so calm and calculative as if it was sizing him up casually. Eventually it closed its eyes again, letting out a yawn as it placed its head back down.

" **So you must be the disturbance everyone has been going on about."** The white fox said in a soft, feminine voice. Naruto froze up at the sound of hearing it, prompting her to open one eye to stare at the boy. Noting his tense state, she closed it and began to stretch lightly before sitting up in the throne. **"Fear not my young kit, we shall bring no harm upon you. Especially seeing as you have been taking care of my disastrous daughter throughout her exploits into your world."** She continued nodding over to the little fox in front of her.

"Daughter? Wait, you mean Foxy-kun is a girl?!" Naruto yelled in shock. "W-well, I guess it's Foxy-chan now huh?"

" **She has made a habit of venturing off into your world whenever she becomes bored, though she is supposed to be watched at all times to prevent this from the happening."** The fox replied looking over at one of the jet black foxes on her side, who stiffened and turned it's face the other way. Letting out a sigh, she turned her attention back to Naruto, who seemed much more relaxed now than before. **"So, what exactly brings you into our land?"**

"Actually, I performed the Summoning Jutsu without a contract and it brought me here." Naruto said scratching the back of his head. "I was told that meant we would be the most compatible in terms of partnerships, so I was hoping I could sign a contract with you guys?"

" **I see, you wish to sign a contract with the foxes."** She replied leaping down from the throne with Foxy and the two guards following after her. They went to the back of the room, where on a podium sat a small scroll on a stand. She reached up and picked it up with her mouth, turning around before dropping it on the ground, where the scroll unravelled into its full size. Naruto walked forward, looking down at the scroll and noting there was only one other signature present.

"You guys have only had one other person sign your contract before?" Naruto asked a little shocked at seeing the lack of names on the scroll. It honestly made him little nervous, figuring their standards might be extremely high.

" **Us foxes are rather seclusive and secretive creatures by nature, therefore we aren't commonly compatible with others. Not only that, but the only way to gain access to us and our contract is to be summoned into our world where we host it, which matched with our low compatibility rate makes it extremely rare that we find potential signees."** She said sitting down across from the blonde. **"The very few that do come never manage to pass our test, besides the one person's name you see there from many years ago."**

"I see…" Naruto said grabbing at his chin in thought. "So what exactly is this test that I have to take?"

" **Usually, a test of both loyalty and strength is required before one can sign the scroll. However, you have already proven to posses both these traits with your protecting of my daughter. Therefore, I will not require you to partake in such a thing, it would be most distasteful."** She replied as Naruto eyes glistened in anticipation of where it sounded like this was going. **"You can sign the contract as soon as you're ready, if you so desire of course."**

"Oh I desire alright, just tell me what to do and I'll do it!" Naruto said eager to have his first summoning. Circling around to stand next to her, he kneeled down as he stared down at the scroll. "By the way, what do I call you exactly? Do you have a name?"

" **My name is Kahara, at least that would be closest translation in your tongue."** She said as the little fox Naruto already knew yelped loudly in the background. **"My daughter's name would be Kiara by the way."**

"Noted," Naruto said nodding to himself as he stored their names inside his head. "So, what do I do next?"

" **Similar to how you would perform the summoning technique, you would need to release a little bit of your blood. Using it, simply sign your name on the scroll and it shall be done."** Kahara said as Kiara moved closer to see. Taking his thumb, Naruto bit down on it and allowed the blood to flow. Reaching down, he careful wrote his name down on the scroll, adding a thumbprint for added measures. Taking a moment to admire his handy work, he nodded with a grin before looking back over at Kahara.

"Done! So does this mean I can summon you guys when I need you now?" He asked getting a nod from the fox.

" **From now on, whenever you perform the summoning jutsu a representative from our world will come to serve you. The level of chakra you put into the technique will determine the level of which the partner you summon will be it. As you become more familiar with our signatures, you will be able to summon us more specifically."** Kahara said.

"Awesome! So...how exactly do I get out of here and back to my world?" Naruto asked scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

" **Door's on the right."** One of the black foxes with blue eyes said before the other smacked him in his head.

" **I apologize for my brother's ignorance. My name is Boku, and this my brother Roku. We look forward to serving you in the future."** The black fox with green eyes said with a bow. **"As for your earlier question, simply perform the summoning jutsu again and you will be transported back to your world."**

"Thanks Boku-san!" Naruto said as the fox bowed again in acknowledgement. Performing the hand signs, Naruto threw his hand on the ground, sparring the group one last grin before he left. "See you guys later!"

Disappearing in poof of smoke, the foxes waited for it to disperse before Roku turned around to face Kahara.

" **Well, he's an interesting one. You sure it was rise to not have him perform the standard test my lady?"** He asked cocking his head to the side curiously. Kahara spared him a glance before closing her eyes and turning her head away.

" **Roku-kun, where is my daughter currently?"**

" **What do you mean? Kiara-sama is right here...oh."** Roku said eyes going wide as he realized the young fox was nowhere to be found. Shaking his head, Boku began to follow after Kahara as Roku began to yell for Kiara to come out of hiding.

" **Kahara-sama, I sensed something coming from that boy that felt familiar. Considering how powerful it was, surely you felt it as well? It almost felt similar to our own beings, but inherently different as well."** Boku asked as Kahara yawned in reply. Jumping into her throne, she made herself comfortable and closed her eye's before responding officially.

" **Pay no mind to it Boku. I know of what you're speaking of and rest assured it is of no concern of our's."** She said snuggling into the fur. _**'Still, fate sure is a funny thing isn't it?'**_ Crinkling her nose to clear her thoughts, Kahara ear twitched as she rose her head again as a question popped into her head. **"Boku, where exactly has my eldest been throughout all this?"**

" **The young master has been training out in the distant desert still. Would you like me to fetch him for you?"** Boku asked as Kahara waved him off.

" **Leave him be, it's a good thing he has been taking his training a lot more seriously lately."** Kahara said faintly drifting back off to sleep. **"I have a strong feeling things will be getting much more interesting around here soon…"**

* * *

Finding himself back in his normal world, Naruto blinked as he groggily tried to get back used to his surroundings. Becoming coherent again, he found that he was sitting on top of a branch that was hanging out the side of a mountain, luckily enough not that high up from the ground.

"Ok, where the hell am I now?" Naruto asked looking around to gain bearing of his surroundings. A loud yip going into his left ear shocked him as he screamed and fell over onto the ground below. Twitching, he righted himself before blinking groggily once again, this time trying to clear the stars in his head. Shaking himself back together, he looked over to find none other than Kiara sitting down next to him, watching him with her mouth opening and tail trailing behind her. "Kiara-chan? What the hell are you doing here, did you follow me?"

The fox nodded in response, scratching at her nose with her paw as Naruto stood up. "Well whatever, I don't really mind. Come on, let's see if we can figure out where the hell Ero-sennin is."

"They'll be no need for that gaki."

Turning around, Naruto jumped slightly as he saw Jiraiya was leaning against the mountain he just fell off of the branch from. "Ero-sennin! Jeez, a little warning next time would suffice."

"I should be saying that to you gaki, one minute I'm walking down a path and the next a blonde idiot is falling directly in front of me. If I wasn't taking my sweet time you would've fell directly on my head. With the brain damage I might have ended up as idiotic as you!" Jiraiya yelled throwing his hands in the air.

"Too late for that…" Naruto mumbled before looking up at his teacher. "Where the hell are we anyways?"

"Actually, we're right outside of Kumogakure now. You should be able to see the village gates any moment now." Jiraiya said turning to continue down the path. "So, did you get yourself a summoning contract?"

"Yup, and just as luck would have it with the foxes." Naruto said smiling over at Kiara while giving her neck a slight scratch.

"Of course it is, your life is really a walking comedy show isn't it?" Jiraiya said chuckling to himself.

"I thought you said we wouldn't reach Kumogakure for another day? It's only been a couple hours since then." Naruto asked running to follow behind him.

"Kid, you've been out of commission for over a day. I honestly thought you were dead there for a second, but that's neither here nor there. Anyways, I've got some good news!" Jiraiya said ignoring the glare Naruto was sending him.

"And what exactly is that?" The blonde asked crossing his arms.

"I've got clarification that Tsunade-hime is here in Kumogakure. Just as I expected, there's no way she could miss out on the betting odds that come with the chunin exams and the respective festival." Jiraiya said nodding in satisfaction. "Now it's just a matter of tracking her down and convincing her to take up the old man's job."

"Wait, what?!" Naruto yelled running to jump in front of Jiraiya. His sudden out burst startled Kiara, who jumped into the arms of Jiraiya on instinct. "What do you mean she's taking over the old man's job?!"

"Crap, I wasn't supposed to let that slip out so early…"Jiraiya said facepalming to himself. "Well whatever, cat's out of the bag now."

"Listen up gaki cause I don't really feel like repeating myself. The real reason the old man sent us out here was to bring Tsunade back to the village in hopes that she could take over as Hokage for him."

"Why is Jiji-san stepping down? Did something happen?" Naruto asked still trying to understand the situation. Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, not exactly sure if he should disclose that information to the boy yet. Sighing, he put down Kiara who ran over to jump on to Naruto's shoulder, looking away as he continued to wait for an answer.

"Honestly, telling you right now wouldn't do any good. We'll wait until we run into Tsunade and then we'll discuss it."

"But-"

" _That's_ all i'm saying on the matter." Jiraiya said becoming serious for a moment. Naruto flinched slightly at his change in voice before frowning and turning his head the other way.

"Whatever. Let's go find this 'Princess' then." Naruto said turning to continue down the path. Jiraiya sighed as he grabbed at his head and tried to ease an oncoming headache.

"I need a damn drink…"

The two continued on until finally they were upon the front gates. Checking them in, Jiraiya got them clearance to enter inside the village, where the two now found themselves standing and looking around in awe.

"I thought it looked crowded during the regular chunin exams, but this is ridiculous." Naruto said staring at the amount of people with his agape. Jiraiya nodded in agreement before clearing his throat and grabbing the boy by his shoulders.

"Well come on gaki, it's time to check every bar and gambling station in the village!" He said vibrantly as Naruto was pulled along side while sweat dropping.

"It's 8 A.M. in the morning, I doubt anybody's out gambling right now." Naruto said shaking the older man's hands off and walking besides him. Jiraiya snorted as he looked away with a faint smile on his face.

"You really don't know what Tsunade is all about do you kid? You know one of her infamous nicknames is 'The Legendary Sucker'." He replied as Naruto stopped walking for a minute.

"...Wow, that is a really poor choice of wording." he said while Jiraiya let out a perverted giggle.

"I would like to think it's pretty accurate actual." He said before breaking out into a full blown perverted thoughts induced laughed. Naruto squinted over at the man, momentarily considering dropping all of this and heading back to Konoha right then. He figured that this wasn't a matter he could exactly trust solely to Jiraiya though, if his character was anything to go off of, so he'd tough through it.

"Let's just get this over with…" Naruto mumbled moving into the first bar. Two hours later the duo found themselves walking out of another gambling hub empty handed, with Jiraiya now sporting two prominent red marks on both cheeks.

"Wow, who would've figured Kumogakure would have such a deep gambling and club circuit." Naruto said as they exited out. "And we've somehow managed to get banned from almost all of them, thanks to a certain someone of course."

"Hey, in my defense I've been lacking on my research lately! I can't write a good book if i'm not inspired correctly, and damn it I gotta' keep the money flowing!" Jiraiya said nodding his head as if what he said made perfect sense. Naruto managed to block most of it out however, a trait he was picking up fast from being with the man.

"Yeah sure, well here goes the last gambling spot in this area." Naruto said looking at the place. Like many of the others, it was club hybrid as well. "Maybe we should stick together this time to make sur-"

"Alright gaki you know the deal, split up and yell if you see Tsunade, bye!" Jiraiya said disappearing behind the doors. Naruto dropped the hand he had in the air from when he was talking earlier and let out a sigh.

"Yup, talking to myself here as usual…" He mumbled before walking inside. Upon entering, his nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of tobacco smoke and alcohol, causing him to wince a little at how strong the smell was. "Good thing I sent Kiara back home, there's no way she would have stepped foot inside these places."

Walking further inside, his eyes quickly adapted to the dark atmosphere of the place even though it was broad daylight outside. He noticed right away that this establishment looked a lot more high class the other one's he had been inside, and everything was set up in personal booths or tables. He glanced around hoping to find a glimpse of Jiraiya, not really paying attention to his surroundings until he bumped into someone else. Stepping back a little, he immediately bowed his head in apology.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking." He said laughing nervously. Hearing giggling, he looked up to see a beautiful looking brunette girl standing in front of him, giving off a sweet smile.

"Don't worry, I'm more at fault here than you are, after all I work here." She said looking down at him. Bending over slightly to look Naruto into his eyes, the boy couldn't help but notice the rather modest cleavage she was hosting, her revealing outfit not doing much to hide it. "You look pretty young to be in a place like this, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, I came here to find someone," He said looking up at her with a blush on his face. "Her name is Tsunade, you wouldn't happen to know if she's here would you?"

"Hmmm, I haven't interacted with anyone going by that name, we can ask Hitomi-san though, she's the manager of the place and keeps a written record of anyone who comes inside. Follow me!" She replied taking the younger boy by the hand. "My name is Haruhi by the way, you can call me Haru-chan."

"Haru-chan then," Naruto said memorizing her name. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto hmm…" She said still pulling the boy by his hand before grinning back at him. "I'll call you Naru-kun!"

' _Normally I'd object to that but I'll make an exception just this once.'_ Naruto thought to himself as they made their way up to a front desk. Behind stood a tall lady with long, spiky black hair held in a ponytail. She was wearing a black suit, and for some reason reminded Naruto a lot of Anko.

"Hitomi-sama, Naru-kun here is looking for someone named Tsunade, do you have anyone under the records with that name?" She asked as Hitomi glanced over at the two. Walking over to a computer, she was quiet for a moment as she quickly went over the database, humming to herself while doing so.

"We've got her on record three times this week alone. There's one for today as well but that was at 6 A.M., I doubt she'd still be here after so-" Hitomi started turning back around to face the two. She was interrupted however by the sound of a loud crash as a number of her tables were either crushed or flipped over. "What the hell?!"

' _Please don't be Jiraiya, please don't be Jiraiya, please don't be Jiraiya…'_

"...Worth it."

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled startling both Haruhi and Hitomi. Letting go of the former's hand, he walked over to where Jiraiya was standing, grabbing at his forehead in frustration as he stood over him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you old pervert!"

Naruto blinked blankly as he realized he wasn't the only one to say those words aloud. Turning around, he looked up to see a blonde haired, pig tailed styled lady in a Kimono standing behind him with her arms folded over what Naruto could only describe as the best sight he'd seen in the world. Behind her stood a black haired girl holding a pig of all things, who looked as though she was trying to hold the other women back.

"Did Ero-sennin do something to upset you ma'am?" Naruto said with a sigh. "Look, I'm really sorry about whatever he did, but could you not kill him please? He kind of still needs to train me."

"Ero-sennin? Ha! That's the perfect name for this pathetic excuse for a man." The blonde woman said smiling haughtily at the name. "And you say he's training you? You could do a lot better than this kid, take that from me."

"I know he may not look like much...or act like much, but really he's a powerful guy, he's actually one of the legendary Sannin believe it or not." Naruto said looking back down at the man in slight disappointment. The older woman snorted as she folded her arms over her chest again looking away with a similar look of disgust that the boy held.

"Oh I believe it alright, though I can't say I would if I wasn't there for the ride myself." She said getting Naruto look up at her curiously. The bolts in his mind began turning at those choices of words as he slowly processed what was being implied.

"Wait a minute...you wouldn't happen to be Tsunade-san would you?"

"In the flesh gaki." She said grabbing a sake off of a platter of a nearby waiter and downing it in one sitting. "Who's asking?"

Naruto took one last look at her clearly drunken state, the damage that had been done to the club, and currently unconscious Jiraiya lying on the floor before letting the biggest sigh he'd ever had in his short life.

"God damn voodoo priestess…"

* * *

 **Here goes the next installment in this ever changing idea of mine. I really appreciate all the support for the story so far, really motivates me to keep going.**

 **Also, to address any concerns about one thing in particular in this chapter. Naruto doesn't _love_ Haku per say, he only knew her for a couple days. It's more so based on the fact that he hasn't had much interaction with females outside of his classmates, who he's known since he was a kid. Haku was the first older women who had shown interest in him, so it's was more so of an infatuation on his end than actually love.**

 **Anyways, I'm running off of 5 hours of sleep for the last two days and feel like I'm about to burn out, so I bid you farewell**


	15. Countdown To The Final Exam!

**Chapter 15: Countdown to the Final Exam**

* * *

Groaning to himself, Jiraiya opened his eyes slowly to the sight of a bright light beaming directly down on him. Vision zeroing in, he realized he was looking up at a hanging light, and that he was currently laying down in a booth.

"Hey, I think he's finally waking up!" Naruto yelled excitedly getting a wince from the person in question.

"Keep it down kid, I feel like I've been hit by a truck…" Jiraiya said sitting up slowly. "Actually, getting hit by a truck might of been better."

"Maybe if you didn't greet people by grabbing them by their asses you wouldn't be feeling how you're feeling…" Tsunade said looking away while downing another cup of saki.

"That's ten…" Naruto mumbled to himself watching her. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back towards Jiraiya who was sitting up fully now, though he still seemed to be focusing his thoughts. Tsunade snorted to herself as she propped her head up in her arms.

"Alright Jiraiya, what exactly do you want from me this time? Because whatever it is I can guarantee that it won't be happening." She said yawning. "Shizune! Ask for another round over here."

"I think you've had more than enough rounds, you know?" Jiraiya said noticing her obviously drunken state. "Besides, there's no need to rush into the politics of things! Why don't we just have a good ole time as teammates for once!"

"Great, and while we're at it we can track down that other teammate of ours as well! You know, the criminal mastermind one! The one responsible for the deaths of dozens, if that number isn't already in the hundreds by now..." Tsunade replied with a mocking smile. "How's that been going by the way?"

For the first time since meeting him, Naruto felt something shift in Jiraiya's personality. The smile on his face dropped, and his hand that was currently wrapped around a glass of water tensed hard enough that he was surprised it didn't break. It even felt as though the temperature in the room had dropped slightly, though he wasn't able to prove that one.

He glanced over at Shizune, who was looking between the two nervously while clutching on her pig tightly. Jiraiya was quiet for a moment before the smile found its way back onto his face, though it was much smaller than before.

"You've always been the best at that…" he mumbled lowly, so low in fact that Naruto was sure he was the only one who picked up on it. "Alright Tsunade-hime, I'll cut right to the chase then; the old man is sick. Very sick as a matter of fact. And he's asking for you to return to the village."

Tsunade seemed to perk up at those words, her drunken state all but evaporating before Naruto's eyes as she stared at Jiraiya in shock. The man simply looked away, fixing a drink of his own while Tsunade seemed to mule over her next choice of words.

"How sick are we talking?" She asked barely above a whisper as Jiraiya placed the saki cup back down on the table. He shrugged before looking back up to stare her in the eyes, holding the gaze as he began to speak.

"From what I saw, it was pretty bad. Not only that, but it doesn't look like it's getting any better. Worse in fact." Jiraiya said as Tsunade crossed her fingers in front of her face.

"So what, he needs me to come in and see if I can fix him? Cause even if he is our old sensei my services aren't coming-"

"I think we're well beyond the point of you being able to fix him." Jiraiya said, cutting her off before Naruto, who was noticeably becoming more agitated by the minute, could blow a fuse. "If anything in that regard we're hoping you can just stop anymore damage from being done. No, the reason we came here for you is a little more complicated than that."

"Well spit it out then and stop beating around the bush!" Tsunade yelled folding her arms under her bust. Jiraiya's mouth opened before closing back shut again, figuring the comment he was about to make would be inappropriate at the moment. Clearing his throat and steeling his resolve, he thought about how he should go about wording his next few words before deciding that the direct approach was the best way to go.

"Well, I'm going to blunt here; he want's you to come back to the village and take up his role of being the Hokage."

For a moment, the sound of the slightly bustling bar was the only noise in the room. Naruto stared between the two silently, noting the nervous and forced smiled on Jiraiya's face and the blank look Tsunade was holding. He was beginning to think he had entered a glitch in the matrix when Tsunade finally unfolded her arms and placed her hands on to the table. Lifting herself up silently, she stared at Jiraiya for a little longer before moving to make her way out of the booth.

"Come on Shizune, I want to try out that other gambling place down the street before we leave." She said as the girl stuttered while looking between them. Jiraiya sighed as his hand went up to cover his face.

"That's what I figured would happen…" He said as Shizune finally got up to chase after her. Getting up as well with Naruto following behind him, the two managed to catch them just as they were preparing to exit the door.

"Look, just hear me out alright? I know exactly how you feel about that job, and trust me I don't really disagree with your sentiments, but if you don't take up the position then-"

"If you really knew how I felt about it then you wouldn't have come to ask _me_ of all people to do so." Tsunade said turning back around to glare at the man. "Just goes to show that after all these years you're still living in that naive little bubble of yours."

"Look Tsunade-hime, giving the current situation at hand you're the only person who could take up the position right now that the Hokage can trust. Trust me if there were someone else we could get me and the gaki wouldn't be standing here in front of you, but right now you're our only option!"

"And what about you?" She asked squinting her eyes malicious at him. "What exactly is keeping you from putting on that hat and robe? It's not like you're in any different position than me really, and you've been actually keeping up with what's going on in that hell hole."

"And it's precisely for that reason that I'm not able to do it. Konoha needs me, but it doesn't need me there. I'm not exactly a figure that works best nor should be in the limelight all the time. It's best that I contribute what I can from afar." Jiraiya said walking up to stand directly in front of her. "You on the other hand can be someone that the people can look up to. Someone that they would feel comfortable succeeding the Hokage they've felt the most secure under ever. Only you, the princess, can fulfill that role."

Though she was trying her best to hide it, Tsunade appeared a little hesitant after those words. Pushing Jiraiya back a couple of spaces, Tsunade stared over at him, though anyone could tell in actuality she was still lost inside her own thoughts. Her concentration was broken however after the sound of someone clearing their throat attracted their attention. Looking behind them, Hitomi was standing there with a nervous looking Haruhi slightly behind her, glaring at the group.

"Listen here, if you guys want to hash out some prior arrangements in my club, that's absolutely fine. But at the very least you could request a _private_ room so as not to disturb the rest of my customers, and not do it at the front entrance of all places! Also, get this damn minor out of here! What kind of place do you think we're running here?!" She started yelling before Haruhi grabbed her and started pulling her away.

"If you would like I could arrange for that room right now?" The younger girl asked with a smile still struggling to hold her boss back. Tsunade watched the scene for a little longer before turning to exit the building. Shizune spared Jiraiya and Naruto one last glance before quickly bowing and turning to run after her.

Jiraiya sighed, scratching at his head before turning to look down at Naruto. He was staring at the doorway Tsunade had just exited out of silently before looking back up at his sensei.

"So you gonna' explain to me what the hell just happened or not?" He asked raising an eyebrow at him. Jiraiya let out another sigh before turning back to Haruhi and Hitomi.

"Yeah, we'll take that private room now. And the gaki stays with me, I'll pay extra for the exception."

Hitomi snorted before turning to walk away, mumbling about 'foreigners' as she made her way back behind the counter. Haruhi watched her before turning back to the two, flashing a smile before motioning the two to come with her.

"Follow me!"

* * *

"I could go for another round if you can my little angel…"

Naruto sighed as he zipped up his jacket, ignoring the drunken mumblings of his 'sensei' as he prepared to leave out of their hotel room. It was currently one in the morning, and Naruto figured he'd be better off getting some training done seeing as he couldn't get himself to sleep at all.

Grabbing his bag, he gave Jiraiya one last look before leaving out the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Walking out into the street, he enjoyed the cool breeze that the night air brought for a moment before making his way to the village's exit. Luckily enough the hotel they choose was close to the entrance, so after a quick check out Naruto was off into a rocky clearing sitting just outside of the village. Placing his bag down next to him, he reached inside before pulling out a small scroll that he set down his lap. Opening it up, he peered down at its contents for a moment before nodding to himself.

"Ero-sennin hasn't disappointed me for once…" Naruto said standing up and cracking his fingers. The scroll contained five lightning based jutsu that Jiraiya had gotten for him from whoever his contact was in Kumogakure. They were ordered from the easiest to the hardest, and though the name of the last jutsu was very tempting, Naruto figured it would be best to start with the first one due to his lack of experience.

It wasn't really a jutsu per say, but more of technique that would help with more complex ones. Essentially, all he was doing was converting and currenting electrical chakra from his coils and into his hand, which could be used for attacks and weapons when he gained more experienced with it. Either way, it would help immensely with his control.

"Alright, let's give it a try…" He mumbled to himself holding his hand out in front of him. He focused on manifesting his chakra, closing his eyes as sweat began to form on his forehead. He began to feel something running along the course of his hand and arm, which gave him the idea that he was actually doing it on his first try. Opening his eyes excitedly, he peered down at his hand only to realize it wasn't lightning running through his arm, but small wisps of wind instead.

"Oh fuck me!"

"Language, Uzumaki-san."

Jumping from his spot with a start, Naruto turned around to face the source of the new voice in the clearing. Leaning against the base of the mountain overlooking the area, Samui stared back at him with a small smirk on her face, undoubtedly there because of Naruto's current situation. She kicked herself off of the wall and made her way over to him while he was still catching his breath, smirk growing even wider when he looked up at her with a murderous glare.

"Holy hell could you try to _not_ scare the living hell out of me!" Naruto yelled as she crouched down in front of him, putting her face inside of her hands.

"Hey, you're the one who came into my training area unannounced and decided to randomly hold your hand out in front of you with your eyes closed. You could have been summoning a demon for all I know." She replied watching as Naruto stood back up to his full height, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll have you know I was practicing for the upcoming exam, which I'm going to win by a landslide by the way." He said as Samui stood up as well. She put her hand up to her forehead in a salute like fashion, confusing Naruto as she repeatedly brought it back and forth between him and her. Nodding to herself, she sent another smirk his way as he stared at her confusedly.

"What do you know, I am taller than you. I thought it was just my imagination."

Naruto stammered over his words as Samui moved to the side slightly to peer at the scroll he had laying on the ground. She could tell that it was for jutsu's, but couldn't make out what exactly they were. Turning back to Naruto, who was still going on about a delayed growth spurt, she snapped her fingers to regain his attention, getting the boy to shut up immediately.

"So what exactly were you doing out here?" Samui asked curiously cocking her head to the side slightly. Naruto blushed noting how her light blue eyes were practically glowing under the moon's light, which mirrored the same thoughts she was having about his own.

"Like I was saying earlier I'm training for the upcoming exams. Can I help you with something?" Naruto asked somewhat wanting her to leave so he could get back to practicing. Seemingly ignoring his question, she walked past him and went over to the scroll that was laying on the ground, leaning over a little to get a better look at it. Naruto eyes widened before he dolphin dived on top of it, turning over to give her a ludicrous stare. "Hey what the hell are you doing, are you a spy or something?!"

"Hardly." She replied moving the hair out of her face. "Lightning techniques huh? Judging from what I saw you weren't having much success were you?"

Naruto didn't answer, only staring up at her angrily as she rolled her eyes. Looking away for a moment, she sighed before crouching down in front of him, giving him a bemused look as he watched suspiciously. "I could help you, you know?"

"What? Why the hell would you do that?" Naruto asked curiously sitting up some more. Samui shrugged as she looked up at the moon, admiring how semi-full and clear it was in the night sky.

"Call it the inner Kumogakure pride in me, I can't stand seeing lightning chakra being misused by the ignorant." She said looking over at him again. "Besides, teaching you what I think you were trying to do won't exactly hurt me in the long run. You only have around two weeks before the exam, I doubt you'll be learning any devastating lightning techniques in that short a time period. Anyways, you were attempting to conduct electricity into your hand right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Naruto asked getting up alongside her.

"It's one of the first things they teach us in the academy since lightning release chakra styles are the most dangerous in terms of drawbacks for the user. If you don't conduct it correctly at best you'll shock yourself slightly with a little feedback, and at worst you'll char yourself." Samui said as Naruto swallowed a knot in his throat.

"Well shit."

"Well shit indeed, that's why it's important you get taught correctly." Samui said folding her arms. "To start, you need to make sure you're pulling on actual lightning chakra and not wind like you were doing earlier."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Naruto asked as Samui looked away in thought.

"What does it feel like when you're using wind chakra?" She asked as Naruto squinted his eyes in trademark fashion.

"What does it feel like? I don't know…" He replied scratching his head absentmindedly. "It's kind of wild, yet calming at the same time. It's not like you really control wind chakra, but more like you try to direct it as much as you can while still allowing it to do it's own thing. Pretty weird when you think about it actually."

"Coming from you I'd expect nothing less. Luckily enough, though the two tend to cancel each other out, lightning and wind chakra seem to work on similar principles." Samui said holding her hand up casually. "Much like how you described wind natured chakra, with lightning nature it's less about control and more about trying to direct."

Blue sparks began to flow around Samui's hand as she slowly drawed upon a little chakra. "Lightning is erratic in nature, but it's that erratic characteristic that makes it so dangerous and potent. The key is being able to control it just enough to direct the energy without losing what gives it it's dangerous touch. To little and it'll backfire on you, too much and you'll get nothing more than a little spark."

Naruto listened silently, taking in her words and letting them set in. Samui took his silence as a sign that he didn't really understand what she was saying, and rubbed the back of her head as she looked away sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm sure that doesn't really help you at all does it? I'm not really great at the whole teaching thing…"

"No, that was perfect actually. I get exactly what you're saying." Naruto said, a small smile forming on his face as he stared down at the palm of his hand. His index finger twitched slightly, followed by a small spark running along the side of it. Samui's eyes widened as soon multiple streaks of small lightning wisps ran throughout his out stretched hand. Looking up, he gave a foxy grin as she continued to stare on in disbelief.

"I-I can't believe it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone catch on so quickly." Samui said looking back up at him. "Are you secretly a genius or something?"

"Probably," Naruto said holding his hand higher to inspect his handy work. "Doubt it though. I guess it's just pretty easy to relate to on my end. Wild and erratic, yet there's something precise and enticing about it as well. Describes me perfectly don't you think?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself there." She replied. "Still, you've impressed me tonight. Definitely earned some cool points in my book."

"I aim to please." Naruto said, bowing exaggeratedly. Samui rolled her eyes before throwing her hands above her head, stretching upwards to relax herself with a long sigh.

"I think it's time for me to head home now, I could use a hot soaking to relieve some stress. Try not to injure yourself Uzumaki-san, I'm looking forward to seeing what you're actually capable of in the tournament." She said walking past him nonchalantly.

"Oi, you know you can just call me Naruto right? No need for the whole 'Uzumaki-san' thing, you're making me feel like an old geezer or something." He said watching her retreating form. She stopped momentarily, looking back at him before allowing the condescending smirk she ever so liked to use appear on her face.

"Alright, goodnight then Naruto-san."

"Still with the honorifics…" Naruto grumbled, scratching his head before flashing his own trademark grin. "Night Samui-chan!"

He watched her retreating form until she was out of sight, slapping both sides of his cheeks as he tried to refocus himself. "Alright, random encounters aside I actually got a little bit done in a short notice. Maybe I should focus on my trump card for now…"

Walking back over to his bag, he packed up the scroll and placed it back inside. Turning back around to face the base of the mountain, he walked forward a few steps before stopping, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes as he held his hand out in front of him.

Grunting, his face scrunched up in concentration as he used his other hand to grab the wrist of the one he put in front of him, both shaking rather heavily as sweat began to fall down onto his face. Slowly, a whirling sound began to reach his ears, and he opened his eyes to see a sphere of chakra slowly but surely growing inside of his palm.

' _Focus, focus Naruto…'_ He thought to himself as he basically tried to will the sphere to grow in size. Dust began to pick up around him as the pressure from the technique began to grow stronger, with it now essentially being the same size as his palm. _'Alright, now for the really hard part…'_

Looking forward to the base of the mountain, Naruto took in another deep breath before breaking out into a charge in its direction. With a beastily roar, he thrusted the rasengan into the mountain, hoping to be able to propel the technique inside of it. Instead, as soon as the sphere made contact with the base, it exploded in the blonde's face, sending him flying backwards and landing with a series of rolls before he finally skidded to a stop on his face.

' _Welp...that didn't work.'_ He thought bitterly, face still embedded into the ground. Pushing himself upright, he shook his head to clear the cobwebs inside before dusting himself off. Sighing, he unzipped his jacket and placed on the ground next to his bag, rolling his neck as he went back to the area he was previously standing in.

"Well, that's one trial down, and apparently a hundred more to go judging off that test run…" Naruto mumbled to himself looking down at his hand. Flexing it into a fist, he nodded to himself before gripping his wrist again and focusing his chakra back into a sphere.

After three hours straight of repeating the same process, he currently found himself laying on his back in the middle of the clearing looking up at the sky. His chest rose erratically as he tried to catch his breath, eyes glossing over as he fought off something he wasn't used too: exhaustion.

"I...I think I'm done for the night." He said raising himself up to a sitting position. Looking down at his hands, he cringed when he noticed that they were basically raw with how much skin had been taken off of them. "Damned furball must be sleep seeing as it isn't healing either…"

Grabbing his bag and throwing it over his back, he slowly began to trudge back to the village, making it back inside in a little under fifteen minutes. The guard at the post informed him it was now four in the morning, meaning he had been out for at least three hours. Walking through the streets back to the hotel absentmindedly, he spotted a little restaurant shack that surprisingly looked to be open, considering the time it was. Shrugging, he made his way over to it, pushing his way through the flaps and walking inside.

He took a seat at the counter and put his head down, resting for a moment as it seemed like no one was currently available to take his order. Looking up to the side, he noticed that there was another person there as well sitting one seat away from him. Actually, this person looked a lot like…

"Tsunade-sama?" He said getting the older woman's attention. She squinted her eyes at him before they widened for a moment in recognition.

"Hey, you're that kid that was with Jiraiya earlier." She said nodding her head as if confirming her own thoughts. "Isn't it a little late for you to be out? What would your parents say?"

"Oh I'm sure they're just going crazy right now, must be why they went out to look for me 12 years early and never came back." He replied flippantly spreading his arms out infront of him on the counter. He looked over his hands, which surprisingly still hadn't healed over yet. He was actually starting to get a little worried over that detail.

"Well at least you've got a sense of humor about it." Tsunade replied picking up her saucer and taking a drink from it. Placing it back down, she looked back over at him and took notice of the condition of his hands. "Jeez kid what the hell _were_ you out doing? Those things are practically raw."

"Training for the upcoming chunin exam, I guess I ended up going a little over board huh?" Naruto replied with a nervous laugh. Tsunade stared at him passively, sighing as she reached out and grabbed one of his hands. "Hey what the hell are you-"

"Shut it kid." She said sternly getting the desired effect. Putting her hand over his, a green glow emitted from hers that began to spread a warm feeling throughout his. After a couple seconds, she took her hand back, leaving Naruto to stare down at his with his mouth agape.

"Y-you healed it? That fast?" He said in disbelief. Tsunade snorted in response to his tone, allowing a small prideful smirk to adorn her face.

"Do you not know who you're talking too, I'm sure the academy should've taught you at least that much." She said holding out her hand as a way of telling him to give her the other one. He moved his left hand over to get healed as well, laughing as he remembered his days in the academy.

"I actually wasn't the most attentive student growing up, I might have missed out on a few subjects here and there." Naruto replied admiring his scar free hands. "Thanks a lot Tsunade-sama."

"Don't mention it kid, in return how about you buy my next round." She said ringing the bell on the counter. "Waiter! Bring me another round!"

"No, she's good thanks!" Naruto yelled after her ignoring the angry look she sent his way. "You look like you've had enough, how about I walk you home?"

"Like I need some wet behind the ears genin to escort me home, I'm perfectly fine on my own!" She slurred throwing her fist up in protest. Naruto watched with a deadpanned stare as she slowly slid off the stool and began to make her way out of the booth. Looking over to where she was sitting, he grunted before calling out after her.

"Hey!"

"What?"

"You left your key card."

"..."

"And judging by the address on here, you're going the wrong way."

"..."

"Want me to walk you home now?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better then sure, do what you want." She replied crossing her arms and looking away in a huff. Sighing, Naruto slid off the stool and made his way over towards her.

' _This is basically Ero-sennin all over again.'_ Naruto thought to himself as the two walked down the road in silence. The sun was just starting to rise, and the streets were mostly empty except for a few people who were preparing their shops for opening. Figuring now was as good a time as any, he decided he might as well try his hand at what his sensei wasn't able to do earlier.

"So, about you becoming the new Hokage and all that…"

"Listen kid, if that sad excuse of a man you call a sensei sent you here to try and convince me, forget it. There's no way I'm taking up that cursed position." Tsunade said staring forward. "Honestly, the nerve of that man to even ask me of all people…"

"What do you mean by calling it 'cursed'?" Naruto asked looking up rather curiously. Tsunade glanced down at him for a moment before looking away again, a stormy look taking position inside her eyes.

"Just look at what happened to all the former Hokage's. From the first all the way down to fourth, every last one of them died young. And for what? The old man's an exception but even a part of him has died since taking up that mantel, though you're still too young to really understand what I'm talking about on that front. It's a fool's errand." She said, her eyes casting down as she continued on. "Hell you don't even have to become the Hokage for things to go wrong for you, just dreaming about it is good enough…"

Naruto knew at this point that she must've been talking about her little brother and lover that Jiraiya told him about earlier. Looking down solemnly contemplating his next words, he was silent for a moment before reaching up to grab at the headband hanging around his neck.

"I plan on becoming Hokage you know." He said quietly getting the older woman to look down at him. "Do you think I should just give up on my dream as well?"

"Of course I do, nothing good comes from getting mixed up with that mess! You're doing nothing but setting yourself up for a early grave, I bet Jiraiya put those crazy thoughts in your head too didn't he?" Tsunade asked haughtily lifting her chin up. Naruto clutched at his head band harder, his hair falling over his eyes as he looked down again. "Take it from me kid, you're better of aspiring for something better than that shitty position."

"Do you think Nawaki would say the same?"

At those words Tsunade stopped , eyes wide as she turned around to look down at the boy. Interesting enough, the environment around them seemed to stop as well, as once again the streets were clear and not even a stray source of wind was making its presence known. She seemed to stumble over her next words in her head before finally speaking again.

"H-how do you know that name?" She asked quietly as Naruto looked up to stare back at her.

"How could you be so disrespectful to the dream that someone so dear to you held in their heart?" Naruto said releasing his headband and dropping his fist to his side. "There was a reason why he wanted to become Hokage, he wanted to protect those that were dear to him. He wanted to protect _you._ I bet the same goes for Dan as well. How could you possibly say the things you're saying right now knowing that?"

Tsunade quickly closed the distance between them, all signs of her previous drunken state gone as she lifted the boy off his feet with one arm. Glaring into his eyes, Naruto returned her stare unflinchingly as her fist shook in front of his face.

"You'd better stop talking right now kid. You don't know what you're talking about. At all."

"I know that the first Hokage, you're grandfather, would and did do everything he could to protect the village. The same goes for the second, third, and fourth. They all lived and died protecting those they loved and cared about. How could you speak ill of their efforts, disrespecting everything that they stood for?" Naruto continued. He could see the various emotions running through Tsunade's eyes as her grip loosened and stare wavered. Naruto himself wasn't even sure where these words were coming from, it was almost as if they were flowing out of him instinctively. His thoughts were broken however as Tsunade dropped him to the ground, turning around so that he couldn't see her face.

"Protecting those they care about? Tch!" She said boastfully though her voice was clearly shaking. "If they really cared about those people then they wouldn't have…"

Tsunade stopped talking again for a moment, and Naruto could see her fist trembling at her side. Coming back down from whatever emotional high had brought his outburst own, he was about to apologize for stepping out of line with his words when Tsunade beat him to the punch.

"What good is it if in the end you hurt those you were trying to protect more than death ever could? How do you think they feel when a person they loved so much is taken away from them on the behalf of others?" Tsunade said in a low, trembling voice. Naruto rose up to his feet, looking at her backside as she still was turned away from him. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to live without someone you loved so dearly? Throwing your life away for some childish dream, it's the ultimate form of selfishness."

Taking aback by the amount of vulnerability she was showing him right now, Naruto looked down at the palm of his hands as he thought over what she just said. Clenching them into fists, he nodded his head in resolve of what he wanted to get across before continuing on.

"I can't say that I do, and honestly I don't ever want to." Naruto replied releasing his fist. "And you're right, it is the ultimate form of selfishness, which is exactly why I plan on becoming Hokage."

Tsunade looked back towards him, tears in her eyes as Naruto flashed a grin in her direction. "W-what are you-"

"I'll take up that roll and protect everyone that I hold dear so that I won't ever have to experience that pain. I won't be protecting them for their sake, I'll be doing it for mine. For my own pleasure." Naruto said holding his fist out towards her. "And when the time comes, I'll protect you as well. I'm sure that's exactly what Dan and Nawaki were thinking as well, you know?"

Tsunade's eyes widened as tears started to flow freely from them. Looking at Naruto, it was almost as if she was staring at her younger brother all over again. The two images blurred into one in her vision, before settling once again into a singular focus. The blonde haired boy's grin, from her perspective, was shining even brighter than the sun that was rising behind him.

' _That damn Jiraiya, he knew exactly what he was doing bringing this boy along with him.'_

Allowing a small smile to form on her face, she wiped away her tears before walking forward to stand in front of the boy. Instinctively, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly as the smile on her face spreaded even wider.

"You really are just like him, and I hate it so much. For someone who hasn't even made it pass the chunin exams, you sure talk highly of yourself."

As the embrace finished, the red face blonde laughed as he scratched the back of his head before a mischievous grin formed on his face.

"Okay then, how about a little rager? I heard through the grapevine that you were somewhat of a gambling woman." He said as Tsunade chuckled slightly in response.

"Alright brat, let's hear it."

"If I win the upcoming tournament at the chunin exams, you'll have to come back to Konoha with us and take up the Hokage position, how does that sound?" Naruto said eyes glistening with excitement. Tsunade seemed to hesitate for a moment, her eyes wavering as if she was still having an internal battle with herself. Finally she let out a sigh before matching the boy's smirk with one of her owns.

"Alright kid, but in return if you happen to lose in the exam," She said walking forward and cupping his face with her hands. "You'll have to promise me you'll give up on this dream of yours and find something else to aspire for."

"Give up on becoming Hokage? That's a little steep for my blood…" Naruto said looking away as Tsunade snorted in response.

"And making me become the leader of a village isn't on mine?" She replied as Naruto hit her with a grin once again. "Fine then, I'll even sweeten the pot for you."

' _It's not like he'll be able to pull this off anyways, this is supposed to be one of the most gifted genin classes in ages.'_

Reaching up to her neck, she pulled out a necklace that had been hidden inside of her robe. Naruto admired it extensively as tsunade rolled the green emrald around in her fingers.

"This was a necklace giving to me by my grandfather, the first." She said looking down at it before back at Naruto. "If you win, you can have this as well."

"Deal!" Naruto said, nodding to himself figuring he definitely won that round of negotiations. Holding his hand out, Tsunade smiled as she took it with hers and the two exchanged a shake. "Alright, now let's get home before- crap my bag! I must've left it back at the stand, wait for me here!"

Tsunade watched as the boy turned around and broke off into a sprint back towards the stand. Letting out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding in, she reached up to grab at the necklace again, twirling it in her hand as she watched his retreating form.

' _He reminds me of them so much that it hurts. Still, it's a good pain, one that I haven't felt in a long time. Maybe...maybe I can put my trust into someone one last time.'_ She thought with a sad smile adorning her face. _'What do you think Dan...Nawaki?'_

Watching him go into the shop, her smile faded a little as a thought popped into her mind. The thought of his name to be exact.

"Naruto Uzumaki...I know I've heard of it from somewhere…"

* * *

"Hello?"

"..."

"Helloooo?"

"..."

"Open up the damn door already Naruto!"

"I swear I'm going to castrate whoever it is on the other side of this door…" Ino grumbled rolling off of the couch and shuffling to the front door. Opening it, she was greeted by the grinning face of Kiba that quickly fell into a look of confusion as he saw it wasn't Naruto he was looking at.

"Ino? The hell are you doing here, and where is that blonde idiot? Not talking about you of course." He asked peeking around to look inside the apartment. He also took notice that Ino was currently sporting her hair down instead of her usual ponytail. "Hey now, you're lookin' mighty-"

"Shut it dog breath." She said rolling her eyes as she pushed some stray hairs out of her face. "Whiskers isn't back from his trip yet, I'm just watching over his apartment until he comes back."

"Uh huh…" kiba said crossing his arms over his chest with a skeptical look on his face. "So why exactly do you have to _stay_ in his apartment in order to watch over it?"

"What- w-well it's easier to just stay here than have to constantly come back and forth everyday from my house you know, I'm practically on the other side of the village." Ino said twirling her hair while looking away. "A-anyways, what the hell do you want?!"

"Jeez relax, I was just coming to see if Naruto wanted to do some sparring seeing as I need a partner today. Nobody else was available…" Kiba said while scratching at Akamaru's ear. " Hey, you wouldn't happen to be interested in-"

"Goodbye Kiba." She said closing the door in his face and turning to go back to the couch. Flopping down face first, she allowed herself a few moments of rest before turning her head over to look at the clock. "Guess it's time I get ready for some training as well…"

After showering and cleaning herself up for the day, Ino made her way out of Naruto's apartment and onto the street. Usually she would be meeting up with her father around this time, but he was currently busy with a mission that made him put their training on halt. Figuring she had no other options, she made her way over to Asuma's apartment to see if there was anything he could help her with. Walking up to the door, before she could knock it was swiftly opened by someone else inside. Stepping out, Kurenai let out a small 'eep!' at the sight of Ino, putting her hand on her chest and letting out a sigh of relief as she saw it was just the girl.

"Oh it's just you Ino, you nearly scared me to death there." Kurenai remarked still slowing down her breathing. "What are you doing at Asuma-kun's apartment?"

"Well, he's my sensei for starters so I was hoping he could help me with some training. You know the, things sensei's are supposed to do?" Ino replied putting her hands on her hips and squinting her eyes at the older woman. "What are _you_ doing at Asuma-sensei's apartment?"

"I-I uh, well you see," Kurenai stuttered looking away with a nervous smile and twirling her hair. "I was returning something I borrowed from him earlier in the week! He wasn't home though so I simply dropped it off inside his apartment and here we are!"

Her nervous laughter wasn't doing much to help her case, but Ino figured it wasn't much of her business to pry anyways and decided she would 'fall' for the bait. "Oh, well that makes sense. So Asuma-sensei isn't home? I wonder where he could be…"

Rubbing her chin thought, Kurenai snapped her fingers in realization before smiling down at the girl. "You should probably check the Nara compound, he likes to go there and play shogi with that other teammate of yours from time to time." Ino nodded as she turned to head that way, giving Kurenai a wave as she made her way back over to the steps.

"Tell the others I said hi for me!"

Making her way over to the Nara compound, it took a little snooping around before she actually found where Shikamaru lived because she wasn't familiar with the area. Eventually she found their house, coming up to the front entrance were a woman was tending to a few plants. She recognized her as Shikamaru's mother, who gave her a warm smile as Ino made her way up to her.

"Ino-chan! It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" She said giving Ino a big embrace that she returned full heartedly.

"I feel the same way Yoshino-san, I actually forgot how to even get to you guy's house." Ino replied sheepishly. "Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei wouldn't happen to be here would they?"

"Oh those two slackers are here alright, not like there's any other place they'd be. Go on inside, they should be out back playing a game of shogi." Yoshino answered moving aside as Ino gave a slight bow before heading in. Making her way to the back, she was about to open the slide and confront the two when she began to pick up pieces of their conversation.

"...so basically what you're saying is that it's almost certain that we're going to be going against others like Naruto in this tournament?"

"Well, at the very least it's _very_ likely. Remember that above all else the chunin exams are a way for village's to show their power and gain clientele. What better way to do that than to send in basically one man wrecking crews? This is one of the biggest chunin exams in the history of the tradition, I doubt anyone's holding back on talent unless they really don't want it to be seen, which is another problem altogether."

' _Others like Naruto? What the hell are they talking about?'_ Ino thought to herself listening a little more closely to their conversation.

"Troublesome, and I think I already managed to identify one of the people you're talking about…" Shikamaru grumbled throwing a piece down on the board. Asuma raised an eyebrow at this little bit of information, getting Shikamaru to roll his neck in an attempt to ease his nerves. "There was this kid, from Sunagakure, that was giving of major bad vibes. Naruto himself was picking up on it especially. It was just like the situation in the wave, except unlike Naruto his bloodlust seems permanent. Naruto was actually rather adamant about us avoiding him during the course of the second exam too."

"Well he was right to be rather careful in that situation. The last thing you want is two Jinchuuriki's going at in a full blown battle during the exam unsupervised. Things could've gotten really bad, not only for you, Ino and others who were around the battle, but maybe for the whole countryside as well." Asuma remarked releasing a little smoke from his cigarette. Shikamaru let out a grunt as he leaned back on his two hands, looking at the sky with an exasperated look on his face.

"I knew this exam was going to be troublesome, but honestly this is way more than I signed up for. I should've stood my ground on us not participating…"

"Come on kid, nothing like a little adversity to build up some character! Besides, you'll have most of the Kage's present along with a platoon of certified shinobi at this thing. No way things are getting to that out of hand." Asuma boasted trying to play the role of an inspiring sensei. Shikamaru rolled his eyes before slapping another piece down onto the board.

"Whatever you say sensei. By the way, I win again."

"What the- we just started!"

"Just goes to show how bad you are at this Asuma-sensei."

While those two began to break out into idle chatter, Ino found herself walking back out to the front door, sparring Yoshino a quick wave goodbye as she left out of the compound.

' _Jinchuuriki's, destroyed countryside's, the mission in the wave, that creepy Sunagakure kid and village power struggles...what the hell does all of this have to do with Naruto?'_ Ino asked herself she made her way back into the inner village. Groaning, she grabbed at the lone bang hanging in front of her face in frustration as she tried to decipher all of what she just heard. _'Aghhhh none of that made any sense! I mean I always knew Naruto was a little different from the rest of us but they're making him out to be like this incredibly dangerous being or something. He's just that regular ol' lovable blonde idiot...right?'_

Stopping in the middle of the street, Ino thought over all of the things she did know about Naruto. She realized that besides the fact that he was an orphan, she really didn't know much about the boy at all and that in hindsight, he had always been rather secretive about his private life, which directly contradicted his normally outgoing nature.

"Ok, now this is really starting to bug me…" Ino mumbled to herself before a small glint formed inside her eyes. "And Ino Yamanaka does not like to be bugged."

Nodding to herself, she mentally added another goal into her to-do list;

Find out the truth about Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

 **(The Next Day)**

Naruto yawned groggily as he stretched himself out on the couch he was sleeping on, sitting up while smacking his lips obnoxiously. Rubbing his eyes, the inner cogs in his mind began turning as he slowly realized he wasn't back at the hotel, or at the very least the hotel he and Jiraiya were staying at. Before he could freak out, the sound of shuffling in the corner caught his attention as he turned to see a black haired woman putting on sandals near the door.

' _That's right, I crashed over at Tsunade-sama's hotel after training yesterday.'_ Naruto thought to himself recognizing that this was the lady that was with her when they first met. _'What was her name again...Shizune right?'_

Noticing that he was awake, she gave him a warm smile as she stood up and smoothed her kimono over. "Good morning- or rather good afternoon Naruto-kun." Sitting up, Naruto stifled a yawn as he did a quick glance around the room before giving her a bewildered look.

"Afternoon? How late did I sleep in?"

"Well, it's around five if that gives you any idea." Shizune replied, giggling at Naruto's over dramatic reaction to her words. "I was just about to go out for dinner if you wanted to join me?"

"Dinner? That sounds great!" He yelled jumping up and grabbing his jacket. Swiftly throwing it on and making his way over to the door, he stopped to put on his sandals while Shizune waited patiently. "So what about Tsunade-sama, she's not coming?"

"No, Tsunade-sama tends to sleep in after a late night of drinking. It also seemed like she had a lot on her mind this morning when she came in, no doubt because of Jiraiya-sama's offer, so I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon." Shizune responded as Naruto jumped up to his feet. "Ready?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Exiting the hotel, the two enjoyed each other's company as they traversed through the village in search of a place to eat. The talking however was mostly one sided as Naruto told Shizune about his experiences through the first two rounds of the chunin exams.

"Seems like you guys had it pretty rough, the chunin exam back during my run was much easier. That should be expected though seeing as this one is being held here in Kumogakure, I hear Raikage-sama is pretty extreme himself." Shizune said after Naruto had finished speaking.

"Yeah, but I-" Naruto started before he froze, face going blank as Shizune stopped abruptly as well in reaction to him.

"Is something the matter Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked worriedly as he turned around to stare in the opposite direction. He was silent for a moment before turning back around and giving Shizune a quick wave.

"Sorry Shizune-neechan, but there's something that I need to go check on, I'll see you around!" He yelled before breaking off into a sprint down the street. Shizune stared after him blankly before cocking her head to the side with a small blush on her face.

"Neechan?"

Naruto meanwhile was hauling ass down the street, eventually jumping up to the roof of neighboring buildings to maneuver without the worry of running into civilians. He found himself scaling into the higher areas of the village, and eventually found that he had scaled high enough to be over the clouds. Finding himself on a piece of land protruding from the mountain that seemed to made unnaturally, he peeked around the corner into the area quietly as the sounds of someone training reached his ears.

His eyes widened when he recognized the women as being the instructor from the chunin exams. What was surprising him even more however was the set of indigo flames that seemed to appear every time she threw a punch or kick.

' _Those flames aren't natural, they give off the same feeling as…'_ Naruto thought before shaking his head in disbelief. _'No way, she couldn't be.'_ Figuring he wouldn't get any answers by standing there and gawking at her, he steeled his resolve before stepping out into the clearing.

Almost immediately Yugito's eyes shot towards Naruto direction, narrowing in a hostile manner before softening into a more surprised look as she realized who it was. "Hey, you're that blonde kid from the exams right?"

"Blonde kid from the exams? That's how you remembered me?" Naruto asked with a sigh rubbing the back of his head. "The name's Naruto."

"Right, well my name is Mitsune, but you can call me-"

"Um, I already know your name is Yugito. You tried that on us in the first part of the exams, remember?"

"Shit, old age must be catching up to me…" She mumbled slamming her fist down in her palm in pseudo anger. Naruto sweatdropped at the sight, scratching the side of his head while sporting a nervous smile.

' _She's a little quirky alright, good thing I like quirky.'_ Naruto said taking note of her rather toned figure. The fact that she was only wearing a sports bra and spandex didn't help with his slightly perverse thoughts, but he managed to put his teenage hormones to the side as he focused in on why he really came to see her. "So anyways...I kind of had a small question for you if you wouldn't mind?"

"A question for me? Shoot kid." She replied taking a seat on top of a large stone. Naruto fidgeted a little in place, trying to think of how exactly how to ask his question. Yugito however was getting a little irate at his lack of words, putting down her water bottle and sending him a bored stare. "Spit it out already kid, I've got training to do."

"Alright first of all, I'm almost entirely sure you're not _that_ much older than me, so I feel the whole kid thing is a little demeaning. My name is Naruto for the record."

"Well _Naruto-kun_ , your height gives me the impression that I am _that_ much older than you, so I guess we're at a stand still on that one."

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto tried to reel in his nerves before he ended up doing something he would regret. Yugito watched on with a bemused smile on her face, having fun getting under the younger boy's skin. Finally calming himself down, Naruto decided to throw all caution to the wind and ask her straight out.

"Alright, I'm going to be pretty blunt here; you're a Jinchuuriki aren't you?" Naruto asked. He almost thought he had made a mistake judging by the look on her face, and backed up instinctively as she hopped down from her sitting position and marched towards him. Leaning forward to be directly in his face, the two shared a brief staring contest as Naruto was unsure of what to do next. He became even more confused when Yugito's face broke out into a smile before she started laughing as she backed away.

"Wow Nibi, looks like you weren't lying back then." Yugito giggled, confusing Naruto as he watched her curiously.

"Nibi? Who the hell is that? And what do you mean I wasn't lying earlier?" He asked confusing himself even more with the questions he was spewing. Yugito simply shook her head as she made her way back over to the stone, taking a seat again as Naruto followed her over.

"I wasn't talking to you Naruto-kun, I was talking to my biju. I have the Nibi sealed inside of me, which is also what I happen to call her by." Yugito said leaning backwards. "So, which one do you have?"

"How do you know I have biju sealed inside of me?"

"Well for one, it's not very common that someone even knows what a Jinchuuriki is, let alone someone as young as you. That was a pretty big giveaway right there." Yugito mused getting a pout from Naruto who somehow felt a little offended from that sentence. "Not only that, but Nibi here told me that she sensed something from inside of you when we first met, but I brushed it off for the most part. Guess I was wrong to do so though, so tell me, which is it?"

"Well...I've got the Kyuubi inside of me." Naruto said, noticing that as soon as he said the name Yugito flinched and grabbed at her head. "Um, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Nibi-chan just had a rather animated reaction to hearing what you just said. Still, the Kyuubi huh? I guess that makes sense seeing as it attacked Konoha that one time. So they sealed it inside of a baby huh? That's different."

"How so?" Naruto questioned as Yugito rolled her neck in thought.

"Well, I know for me the sealing happened when I was at the age of five. I didn't even know it would be possible to seal such a powerful being into a baby's body. The guy who did it must of been pretty special."

"Yeah he was special alright." Naruto grumbled to himself before shaking his head to clear the negative thoughts. "So you and the Nibi, it sounds like you guys have a pretty good relationship?"

Yugito blinked before looking up in thought. "Well yeah, I guess so. I mean I've been with her for practically all of my life so we have no choice but to be close. What, is it different for you?"

"Please, the furball is far from the type of person...being that you can get close to. All he does is sleep and spout about how he's going to kill me one of these days." Naruto said looking back on their previous interactions. Now that he thought about it, the Kyuubi was quite the asshole.

' _Hey furball, you know you're an asshole right?'_

" **Really? And I guess you're one to judge with that** _ **outstanding**_ **personality of yours."**

' _You see that? That right there is why you're an asshole.'_

" **Whatever welp, just keep it down out there. I can sense that annoying cat's presence and I'd rather not be disturbed at the moment. Though I'd much rather put up with her antics than yours."**

' _Ass. Hole.'_

"Naruto!"

"Asshole!" The blonde yelled aloud before covering his mouth, blushing as Yugito stared at him blankly before bursting into laughter.

"Man, you really are an amateur at this. You still blackout while talking to your biju, that could get you killed out in the field you know?"

"I'm aware," Naruto sighed rubbing at the back of his head. "So those flames you were emitting earlier, they come from the Nibi don't they?"

"It's one of the perks," Yugito said giving Naruto a sly look. "Why?"

"Well, this is my first time meeting another Jinchuuriki so… I was wondering if we could spar a little?" He asked innocently. Yugito looked as if she was thinking his offer over, kicking her feet back and forth as she hummed to herself.

"Well, in all honesty we probably shouldn't but...why the hell not?" She said kicking herself down to the ground "Let's do it!"

Really? Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed throwing off his jacket and prepping up some light stretches. "I haven't had a proper fight in ages, this is gonna' be great!"

"It better be, women don't like to be disappointed by the opposite sex." Yugito said slyly as Naruto tried to ignore the obvious underlying meaning to that statement. He figured her and Anko would be pretty good friends if they ever met. Falling into a stance, Yugito cracked her fingers before giving Naruto a daring look. "Alright, come at me."

Not needing to be told twice, Naruto quickly closed the distance between the two and aimed a punch directly towards her abdomen. Yugito skillfully dodged by leaning backwards, landing her palms on the ground and allowing Naruto to go flying over her. Spinning in mid air, he summoned three shadow clones that landed on the ground along side with him.

The two clones immediately took off after her again, Yugito eyeing them silently as she came up with a plan. She didn't have much time to do so however as soon the two clones were upon her, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks that she managed to narrowly evade each time.

"She's nimble, which is pretty fitting now that I think about…" Naruto mumbled as the two clones ended up punching and dispelling each other. Yugito gave him a mocking smile as she put her hands on her hips, cracking her neck in a nonchalant matter.

"Well? Anything else?"

"Plenty." Naruto replied making ten more clones. "Let's see how you like this!"

"More clones huh?" Yugito mumbled looking around. "...No Nibi I wasn't admiring his stamina or thinking of _other things._ "

Jumping into the air while running through some hand signs, Yugito pulled her hand back as yellow lightning began forming into a ball around it. **"Lightning Release: Electron Technique!"**

Launching the ball down to the group of clones, they had no choice but to await impact as the attack reached them far too fast for them to react. Making contact with one of the clones, the ball exploded into a stream of electricity that transferred to the rest of them. Yugito threw her arms up at the success of her technique.

"Ha! How do you like them moves?"

"Pretty nice, maybe you could teach me sometime!"

Yelping and turning around, Yugito barely had enough time to put her hands up in a makeshift shield as Naruto slammed down into her with his attack.

" **Wind Gale Thrust!** **"** He yelled as the attack sent the female Jinchuuriki crashing back down to the ground. Floating in the air slightly, Naruto whistled at smoke cloud created back on the ground from the impact. "Maybe I went a little overboard…"

Landing back on the ground, Naruto stared into the cloud of smoke cautiously. Looking for any sign of movement, he found it when a shadowy figure was slowly approaching him. His eyes widened when Yugito reappeared, but this time with blue flames covering both her arm and legs.

"Not gonna' lie, that's quite the technique you've got there. That actually hurt, if only just a bit." She said slamming her fist into her opposite palm while staring him down. "Time for me to return the favor."

' _Those flames, they're from her biju right? Anything you can tell me about them?'_ Naruto asked his tenant while backing up a little. He heard a rumbling in his mind, figuring it was the Kyuubi thinking over what he had requested.

" **You knit whit it's fire, what do you think fire does? It burns."** The Kyuubi grumbled clearly annoyed by the question. **"Honestly, even for a human your lack of intelligence is frightening."**

"Oi, I meant was there something special about-" Naruto yelled before dodging quickly as Yugito slammed her foot into where he was previously standing. Not only was the initial attack strong, but the fire on her leg seemingly spreaded throughout a small sample of the area, similar to a shock wave.

' _So it works similar to a buff up, she can use it to make her melee attacks more powerful and increase it's range.'_ Naruto thought to himself putting that information into the back of his head. Grunting, he dropped into his taijutsu stance as Yugito charged his way again. He narrowly managed to dodge her onslaught of attacks, finding that even when he was able to dodge the physical contact, she was still getting close enough to burn him with the flames. Getting frustrated, he figured it was time for him to go back onto the offensive.

"Alright, enough!" He yelled grabbing Yugito by both arms. The girl stared at him in shock as he held on even though the flames were burning into his hands.

"W-what the hell are you doing kid, are you crazy?! Your hands gonna' burn off!" Yugito yelled as Naruto cocked his head back. Rushing it forward, he slammed his forehead into Yugito's own, grunting as he let go of her arms. She stumbled back in a daze, clearly not expecting a headbutt and therefore feeling the full effects of the attack. Naruto on the other hand was less concerned about the pain from his head and more so by the pain from his hands.

' _Just like I thought, those flames are definitely different from regular fire. This hurts like hell!'_ He thought staring down at his hands that were for the second time in less than 24 hours completely raw. _'Damn it, she's not going to be out of it for long, I need to by myself sometime...Wait! There's that…'_

Wasting no time, he began to run through a set of hand seals, though his speed was diminished as he had to fight through the pain of his hands touching. Finishing up, he crossed his arms into a X just as Yugito appeared for another attack.

" **Wind Gale Surge!** **"** Naruto yelled throwing his arms out to the side right before Yugito's punch landed. A surge of wind erupted from all sides of his body, blowing her and anything around him backwards. While in theory it was a relatively easy jutsu that he had come up with and was only supposed to be effective at repelling an opponent and projectiles slightly, because of the amount of chakra Naruto could pump into it the attack turned more into a miniature bomb almost.

"That worked a lot better than I thought it would, I'll have to thank Asuma-sensei for this one later." He remarked admiring his handy work. Yugito meanwhile had righted herself in the air and landed across from him, mouth agape and not at all hiding how surprised she was at that previous move.

"I don't think I've ever seen a genin with this much skill before, granted I'm not exactly going all out but I could say the same about him." She mumbled as a dangerous grin formed on her face. "Maybe I can kick this up a notch, he should be able to handle it."

"Oi, you just gonna' stand there or are we continuing this spar?" Naruto asked mockingly falling back into his stance. Yugito simply grinned even harder before disappearing from where she was standing. Before Naruto could react, a kick into the stomach swiftly lifted him off the ground. It was followed up by a second one that successfully launched the blonde into the air with his opponent following after him.

Grabbing him by his shirt, Yugito began to spin in the air before launching him up even higher, performing hand seals as soon as he left her grip. "Sorry Naruto-kun, but if you're going to properly excite me I feel as though I'm going to have to rough you up a little bit." Taking aim with her hand, she lined up with the boy's body before firing off her jutsu.

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Technique!"** She yelled firing the single concentrated bolt of lightning at him. She winced slightly when it made contact, as she could hear the boy yelp out in pain as the attacked struck him. Landing back on the ground, she watched as his limp body fell from the sky, getting more worried as he didn't seem to be recovering. _'Shit, did I go a little overboard with that last attack?'_

She feared the worse when his body hit the ground with a resounding smack that echoed throughout the area. Biting her nails, she peered into the dust cloud that he kicked up, contemplating should she make a run for it before anyone noticed. "Holy shit I just killed a genin from another country, and that genin happens to be a Jinchuuriki...I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead-"

Her mini break down was interrupted however by a strong gust of wind rushing throughout the area. Putting her arms up to protect her eyes, she squinted while trying to get a look at what was going on. As the dust started to disperse, she noticed Naruto getting up to his feet, though his appearance was slightly different than before.

Standing up, Naruto looked down at his hands and noted that his fingernails had turned into claws. He also felt a little different, similar to that time with Jiraiya when he…

"Uhh Naruto-kun? I didn't give you brain damage or anything did I?"

"What? No, why?" Naruto asked a little confused by her question. Yugito let out a sigh seeing as the boy was still capable of speaking, and now the worried look that was previously adorning her face was replaced with a calculative one.

"Well, it's just that one of your eyes is bloodshot red. I figured either I had broke you or you were into some heavy drugs…" Yugito said sarcastically. "But now I see it's something different entirely. This...this is you biju state isn't it?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he noticed there was a slight red hue covering his body. It was similar to what Shikamaru had explained he looked like back in the wave. Yet this time, just like during his experience with Jiraiya, he was completely in control of himself and aware of what was going on.

"I guess it is," He said looking up at her. "I wouldn't know since I've only used twice before this, and for the one time I used it in battle I don't even remember what was going on."

"Y-you've only entered your biju state three times?! Is Konoha not teaching you how to control it's chakra?" Yugito asked clearly shocked at this information. Naruto shook his head to confirm her thoughts, getting her mouth to fall agape.

"I didn't even know I was Jinchuuriki until this year." Naruto replied.

"That...that makes no sense at all. They started training me as soon as Nibi was sealed inside of me. Why wouldn't they…" Yugito started before shaking her head and smirking over at him. "Actually, that doesn't matter to me. What does though is that you've managed to impress with your power. Because of that, I'll show you a little something of my own."

Closing her eyes, Yugito fell silent as Naruto watched on curiously. The fire that was previously only on her arms and legs began to spread out until they covered her entire body. The cloak of fire even took on the appearance of a tail in her backside, swishing around behind her. Opening her eyes, they had become completely black with irises glowing a goldish yellow color. Putting her arms up, Yugito did a quick spin before facing the Naruto again with a confident smirk on her face. "Well, how do I look?"

"Badass." Naruto said not holding back his opinion. "So this is your biju form?"

"I guess you could say that." Yugito said before taking in a deep breath. Slowly the flames disappeared from her body, and her eyes reverted back to normal as Naruto watched confusedly.

"Hey, I thought we were going to get serious now? Why are you powering down?" He asked with a pout. Yugito let out a yawn while stretching, sitting down on the ground after she was finished with one hand on her knee and the other holding her face up.

"Well, the more I thought about the more it seemed like a bad idea for us to fight using our biju's chakra. That stuff's pretty noticeable you know, I'm pretty sure we've already attracted a little attention to ourselves. Besides, seeing as you haven't even been trained to control your power yet, I don't want to have to be responsible for you if you lose control." Yugito finished as Naruto stared on.

"Wow, and here I had you taken for the non-sensible type."

"Well I am an adult you know, I have to act like it sometimes."

"I know quite a few who would beg to differ." Naruto deadpanned in response to her answer. Yugito let out a small laugh at his joke, standing up while walking over to gather up her things. Turning back towards him, she rose her eyebrow as she noticed that he was still in his biju state.

"Um Naruto, aren't you going to go back to normal now?" She asked as he looked at her as if he didn't understand what she was talking about. Recognition shooting across his face, he gave a sheepish laugh as he returned to normal, rubbing the back of his head as Yugito shook her head. "Rookie."

Naruto was about to retort when a loud growling noise ran throughout the area. Blushing, he looked away as Yugito began to giggle uncontrollably. "Dammit, I got so excited at the thought of fighting another Jinchuuriki I forgot how hungry I was, I really need to go grab me some dinner…"

"Go ahead Naruto-kun, from the sounds of things you'd better hurry before you starve to death." She said still giggling. Naruto gave her a grin before turning to head off, stopping right before he jumped off the cliff.

"We should do this again sometime, in a situation where we can fight without having to hold back." He said as Yugito nodded in agreement.

"Maybe, but you'll have to show me some improvement before then. I could wipe the floor with you as you are now." She replied cooly getting him to brood a little. Waving, she watched as he began to scale down the mountain back towards the main village before figuring she should do the same as well.

"He's way stronger than I was at his age, he's going to be a monster when he gets older. We'll have to look out for him." Yugito said nodding to herself.

" **He'll be quite the looker as well, maybe you should consider a little cradle robbing in your future?"**

"Shut up, Nibi." Yugito said with a sigh as she began to make her way down the mountain as well. Unbeknownst to her, a figure on a nearby cliff had been watching the entire ordeal, and scribbled a little something into a small notebook before nodding to themselves and leaving as well.

* * *

 **(2 Weeks later)**

"Again."

Swearing, Naruto looked up through one eye as he leaned over his knees. Sweat was pouring down his body as Jiraiya stood across from him with a stern look on his face. Sighing, he stood up again before running towards the man.

His first two punches were deftly caught, putting him into a power struggle match with the man that he was clearly going to lose. Thinking on his feet, he dropped to the ground and slid underneath the taller man's legs, getting his grip to loosen and allowing himself to break free. Jumping backwards to put a little a distance between them, he performed a set of hand seals before bringing his hand up to his mouth.

" **Wind Torpedo Jutsu!"**

Spitting out a series of air bullets in Jiraiya's direction, he thought he had finally gotten him when the man instead pulled something entirely out of the left field.

" **Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"** He yelled turning around as his hair grew longer, thicker and spikier than before. The air bullets seemed to bounce harmlessly off of it, getting Naruto to growl in frustration as Jiraiya's hair returned to normal. Giving the boy a smile, he held his thumb up before slowly turning it to face the ground. "That's how I rate your performance."

"Bite me." Naruto said dropping down to the ground and looking up to the sky while trying to catch his breath. His entire body was covered in sweat, blood and bruises, and his shirt had been all but torn to shreds with only a small section still clinging on to his body. "I'm gonna' kick your ass one of these days, just you wait on it."

"In your dreams kid, in your dreams." Jiraiya said walking over and handing him a bottle of water, which he gladly took. "Well tomorrow's the big day, think you're ready?"

"I was born ready Ero-sennin." Naruto replied mock heroic like, getting a laugh out of the older man. "I'm going to win that tournament, and then we're going to drag Baa-chan's sorry ass back to Konoha and make her become Hokage."

"You know, I think she hate's you a little more every time you call her that name." Jiraiya said sweat dropping at the memory of the first time he did it. They actually ended up having to pay a fee for the crater they caused in the middle of the road. "I don't even understand you two, you were perfectly fine with each other when you first met."

"We're two alpha personalities Ero-sennin, it's only natural that we would clash like this." Naruto replied, nodding his head as if he was giving some sort of sagely information. "Besides, it's not like I'm lying, she is a Baa-chan. Don't let her deceptive looks fool you."

Taking a drink from his water, Naruto didn't have much time to enjoy it before tapping on his shoulder forced him to turn around. Before he even knew what was going on, a fist had found it's way into the center of his face, sending him flying past a nervous looking Jiraiya who simply waved at the attacker with a smile. "Good morning Tsunade-hime."

"Shut it Jiraiya, how about you teach that brat of yours a little manners." Tsunade said cracking her knuckles. Shizune sighed as she pulled out a set of bandages and made her way over to Naruto. "Anyways, it looks like the teams from Konoha have made it in so I figured I'd let you two know, not sure why though. Come on Shizune, leave that brat alone! I want to get to the betting pools before they get too crowded!"

"Coming!" Shizune yelled before turning back to Naruto. "Sorry Naruto-kun, I healed as much as I could but you should probably keep those bandages over your eye for awhile. Knowing you, you'll be fine in no time. Anyways, all of your friends are here so why don't you go meet up with them?"

"The guys are here?" Naruto asked eyes widening in excitement. He hadn't seen any of them in a month, so he was pretty excited at that news. "Sweet, I need to hurry back to the hotel then!" Getting up, he broke off into a sprint as he ran pass Jiraiya and Tsunade back to the village. "I'll meet up with you guys later Ero-sennin, Baa-chan!"

"God damn brat…" Tsunade mumbled watching his retreating figure. Her eye began to twitch as she felt a hand wrap around her waist, Jiraiya looking down at her suggestively.

"You know, this means my hotel is going to be empty for awhile, maybe we could…"

"You and I both know that's not happening, so I won't even entertain you with an overreaction." Tsunade said brushing his hand off and walking back towards the village. "Shizune! Leaving!"

"Right Tsunade-sama!" She yelled running after her. Stopping by Jiraiya, she gave a quick bow before continuing on and catching up to Tsunade. Jiraiya waved after them with a defeated smile on his face.

"Yeah, I figured…"

Meanwhile, Naruto found himself wandering the streets aimlessly after cleaning himself up back at the hotel. "You know, it probably would have been a good idea to ask where they were going before running off…" He mumbled to himself looking around. Closing his eyes, he tried to see if he could pick any of their chakra signature's, but the influx of shinobi in the village was messing with his sense's. "Dammit!"

"Something bothering you Naruto?"

Yelping, Naruto jumped backwards into a defensive position as he turned to face the source of the voice. He was surprised to see none other than Kakashi, along with the rest of Team 7, staring back at him. Catching his breath, he shot a glare at the silver haired man who returned it with his patent eye smile. "You almost scared me shitless, and I just got clean again…"

"That's disgusting," Sakura remarked with a repulsed look. Naruto shrugged seeing as it was the truth, leaving the girl to shake her head in disappointment. "Anyways, how did you get here in Kumogakure? You weren't traveling with Team 10 and Ino-buta said you were out on some 'secret mission'?"

"Well I was, and that mission ended up bringing me back here. After we finished it up, or settled it for the time being I guess, we figured it would be best to just stay here seeing as I would have to return later anyways." He replied as Sakura stared at him curiously.

"Well what was the mission? And who are you here with?"

"I think that's enough questions for now Sakura, if it was a 'secret' mission I'm sure Naruto isn't allowed to share much of the details." Kakashi answered for him, getting a pout from the pink haired girl. "You're team is back at the hotel we stayed at the previous time we were here if you were wondering Naruto, that's likely where you can find them."

"Hey, thanks Kakashi-sensei, I guess I'll see you guys later!" Naruto yelled waving as he ran back towards to the hotel. Stopping however, he turned to stare back at Sasuke, who was already eyeing him as well.

Though they didn't share a single word with each other, what was understood didn't need to be out aloud. Naruto could tell that he was much different besides the obvious wardrobe change into a more black look. And Sasuke could tell the same about him. The two exchanged a small smirk, which was all the confirmation they needed to confirm that they were both sharing the same thought.

' _Don't lose before we have a chance to settle our score.'_

With that, Naruto turned and continued on his way to the hotel. Sakura, Choji and Kakashi watched the small exchange with various degrees of interest, with Sakura being the only one to voice her's.

"Uhh, that was a little weird huh?" She asked. Kakashi simply shook his head as he pulled out his latest book.

"Nothing about that was weird at all Sakura, it was an exchange of acknowledgement between men. With us, words need not even be in the equation for our feelings to get across. It's something a women could never understand." Kakashi replied sagely getting a nod from Choji in agreement. Sakura stared at them in a mix of confusing and disgust before shaking her head and turning to walk away.

"Men are stupid."

 _A little while later, with one of those said men._

"I'm telling you, I _am_ Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I'm sorry sir, we can't allow you to continue any further unless you can provide some form of Identification."

"I left it back at my other hotel! Are you really going to make me go all the way back there to grab some stupid I.D. ? I AM NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

"Sir, there is no need to raise your voice in this establishment. You are disturbing the other guest."

"I couldn't give less than a damn about the other-"

"Naruto!"

"Give me a second!" He yelled looking back at the person who called his name. Turning back to the clerk lady, he slammed his hand on the desk as he continued his tirade. "Now listen here, I don't know if you know who you're dealing with here, but I swear I'll raise hell in here if-"

Stopping mid sentence, he turned to see the rest of Team 10 looking back at him irritable, with Asuma hiding his face behind his hand. Turning back to the attendant, he gave a small smile as he back away slowly. "Sorry about all of that, I was just testing out my acting skills a little. That was pretty believable huh, I'm gonna' get this role for sure! Well, see you around!"

Running back towards his team, he greeted them with a grin while throwing his arms up in the air. "Guys, it's been so long! I missed you!"

"While I'm not entirely sure I want to be seen in public with you right now…" Ino murmured still accepting his embrace. "I missed you too Whiskers."

Turning to Shikamaru, Naruto held his arms out as well, only to be meet with a hand to his face as he began to walk forward. "I didn't miss you that much, don't touch me."

The group shared a laugh as Asuma looked down at the one student he hadn't been able to keep tabs on throughout the month. Putting his hand on his shoulder, Naruto looked up as Asuma smiled down at him. "So kid, while I have at least a rough estimate of how strong these two have gotten, what about you?"

"Oh don't worry about me Asuma-sensei." Naruto boasted throwing his hands behind his head and grinning in trademark fashion. "I'd be more worried about whoever the hell gets the displeasure of going up against me."

"Don't get too cocky Whiskers, would be a shame if you ended up going down in the first round." Ino remarked. Naruto waved her comments off and flexed his muscle in response as she rolled her eyes at the act. "So, I was thinking…"

"By yourself?"

"Shut it Nara. So like I was saying, we should get everyone together before the tournament so we can hang out, seeing as tomorrow we're all going to be essentially enemies." Ino finished. Naruto nodded his head in agreement, figuring it sounded like a good idea to him.

"Sure let's do it!"

"Well you guys have fun with that, I think I'll stay at the hotel and-" Shikamaru started before two pairs of hands found their way onto either of his arms. "Well so much for that I guess…"

"C'mon Shika, you'll never find a girlfriend if you don't leave your comfort zone." Ino said with Naruto nodding for added effect as they dragged him out of the main lobby. Asuma watched them with a smile on his face, turning to head to the bar where the rest of the instructors were meeting up at.

' _Looks like I don't have to worry about them at all, they definitely have each other's back. As their sensei, I couldn't ask for anything more.'_ He thought proudly. _'Yup, I really am the greatest, bringing up a crop of genin like that.'_

"Asuma-kun, you've got that creepy look on your face that tells me you're taking too much credit for something you were involved with." Kurenai said walking up next to him. Asuma laughed heartily at her correct assessment of the situation, getting her to giggle along with him.

"Well, maybe just a little."

* * *

In a dark cave hidden at an undisclosed location, Nine figures phased into existence, each one a hologram standing on top of a finger from a large statue. The room was silent until one of the figures opened their eyes, exposing their purple couple with ripple like rings flowing throughout them. It was at this moment that one of the people, a short man with a hunched over appearance began to speak.

" _I hope you have a good reason for calling this sudden mandatory meeting Leader-sama, I was in the process of gathering a great deal of income for our operation."_ The figure said, their already raspy voice being doubled under the sound of the transmitter. A taller man with green eyes scoffed at his words, folding his arms as he looked away from the group.

" _You were in the process of a good deal? If anyone was gathering some real money around here it was me, though from the sounds of things you weren't able to finish your side of the deal."_ The taller man replied.

" _Really? Well maybe we should speak on how half the money from your deals always seem to never actually make it to the cause? Now what possibly could be going on there Kakuzu-san?"_ The hunched over man said back. Before they could continue on, the 'Leader' of the group raised his hand to gather their attention.

" _Sasori-san, Kakuzu-san, that's enough of your squabbling. We have more important things to discuss."_ He said eyeing both of them. After being assured that they were finished, he continued speaking. _"First and foremost, Zetsu-san, I presume you have found the whereabouts of the remaining Jinchuuriki?"_

" _I'm still in search of the Rokubi and Yonbi, but other than that the rest have been accounted for."_ The black side of Zetsu replied. _"I'm still keeping tabs on the others as well so we don't lose their position."_

" _Good, If all goes well...then it will be soon time for us to really put our plans into motion. If you all haven't done so already, you should be meeting up with your partners now. The capturing of the Jinchuuriki will begin to commence after the year's end."_ The leader stated getting a nod from the holographic members. _I would request that you all return back to our main base for a proper debriefing, excluding Itachi-san and Kisame-san who shall continue with the their recon mission. For the rest of you, this meeting is adjourned. You may leave."_

Nodding, the figures who had been allowed to leave phased out of the room, Leaving only three figures. The red eyes of one landed on the leader's, who stared back unflinchingly.

" _I don't believe I need to inform you two of how important this mission serves for our purpose. It's is imperative that you provide accurate information on the power of the Jinchuuriki's in the tournament so that we have an idea of what we will be walking into when we set out to capture them."_ He said lowly.

" _I don't see why you're so worried, at the end of the day they're still just a bunch of genin brats. Jinchuuriki or not, there's no way we shouldn't be able to handle them."_ Kisame said with his shark grin in place.

" _This serves to not only tell us their power now, but serve as an indicator for how strong they may become in the future."_ The leader replied calmly. _"We can also use this time to gain information about their village's protection levels of them and which of them will be easier to access from the start."_

" _We'll be watching them closely."_ Itachi replied closing his eyes. _"All the information we record will be reported back when return."_

" _Good, I look forward to the results of your work. You are dismissed."_ With that, the leader left the room as well, and Kisame followed after. Itachi lingered for a little longer, opening his eyes slightly as his sharingan spun wildly. Eventually, he too disappeared from the room, leaving it silent and empty as if nothing had ever transpired inside of it.

Opening his eyes back in the real word, Itachi watched as Kisame swung his large sword over his back, turning towards his partner and grinning.

"Well, don't wanna' miss out on the good seats do we?"

Getting up as well, Itachi followed after Kisame while admiring the full moon clearly visible in the sky. It was nights like this that he was reminded of his time in Konoha, when he would return home late from a mission to find his little brother waiting for him asleep on the porch. Though he wouldn't dare show it, and the memory was vanished from his mind just as quickly as it appeared, the memory brought of small tinge of pain to him.

Another pair of sharingan clad eyes was staring at the same moon that very moment. But unlike Itachi, the pain brought on by that memory was not a small tinge, but enough to rival death itself.

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait on this chapter, with school starting back up and having to focus on that for awhile my writing time got severely cut down. We should be back in business now though, so no need to worry. Plot setup is over, main event is next. Final exam time my friends, see you soon.**


	16. A Nara's Resolve

**Chapter 16: A Nara's Resolve**

* * *

The next morning Naruto and co found themselves walking into the stadium where the final exams would take place. It was on the opposite end of the village, one of the few areas that was mostly flat in terrain. Everyone from Konoha who were participating were giving off some signs of nerves, except for the four who were currently leading the pack.

"I'm just saying it's a little inconsiderate to host these things so early in the damn morning. I mean, we're the ones who're actually going out there and competing, shouldn't they accommodate just a little bit for us?" Kiba complained as Naruto stared forward boredly.

"Well theoretically speaking, there's going to be plenty of times when we're selected for missions out of the blue regardless of our time preference , especially being chunins. It makes sense that they would replicate that feeling in a exam meant to test if we're ready for that jump or not." Naruto replied thinking it over a little. Kiba stared over at him blankly before turning forward, continuing on in silence before breaking it again.

"I hate it when you pull that smart crap out of your ass at random times."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto began to scan over all the people he saw entering into the stadium. While he was aware that the final exams especially were a big tourist attraction, he was still surprised to see so many people pouring in to watch. Shinobi and civilians alike.

The trio of teams made their way inside, where they were instructed to go into the waiting area for participants in the stands. Walking up to the spot, Naruto quickly spotted Samui and her team already present, sparing her a grin and wave that she returned, along with a happy looking Omoi. Leaning over the balcony, Naruto whistled as he saw what type of environment they would be fighting in.

The ground was made mostly of solid rock and earth, with pretty much no signs of grass or anything of the short. There was a small pond of water pocketed in the corner, which he figured was there to help out any water users that could get to it. Throughout the area were boulders that protruded from the ground, some not even half his size and others more than double his own height.

' _Those could be pretty useful if I need to hide or grab some quick cover.'_ He mused to himself, already going over game plans in his head. Looking up, he could see the stands were already filling up with people as they came closer and closer to the start time. Ino and Shikamaru came on both sides of him, leaning over the rail and looking out to the crowd as well.

"Wow, that's a lot of people." Ino remarked taking in just how many people were in attendance. "I'm actually starting to get a little nervous, it looks like there's a lot of powerful shinobi watching us."

"Ino? Nervous? Never thought I'd hear those words in the same sentence together." Shikamaru snorted. Ino reached behind Naruto's head to give him a quick slap on the neck, ignoring his grumblings of taking a joke as she leaned forward a little more to peer down into the arena. The sound of whistling caught there attention as they turned around to see one of Fuu's teammates, Kaito, walking up the stairs while giving Ino a lecherous grin.

"Wow, the matches haven't even started yet and I'm being blessed with a great view. Looks like luck's on my side today." The blue haired boy said getting Ino to blush angrily as she instinctively tried to pull her skirt down. "Come on, don't be like that, how about you-"

Any further advances from him were cut short as Naruto grabbed hold of his outreached hand, giving him an even tempered stare as Shikamaru came up behind him. "We'd prefer if you held your sexual advances against our teammate to yourself. We'd hate to have to get disqualified right before the exam started over something so troublesome."

Naruto nodded in agreement, releasing his grip as Kaito pulled his hand back and rubbed at his wrist. "Hey, if it's a fight you two want then I have no problem-"

"Kaito."

Walking up from behind him, Fuu spared team 10 a glance before returning her gaze back to her own teammate. Whatever communication the two were having was non-verbal, as after a short stare down Kaito let out a sigh and put his hands up in a surrendering pose. "Alright alright, I'll stop. I was just trying to have a little fun seeing as I lost sight of you two on the way here. Where the hell were you anyways?"

"Aito-san left his necklace back at the hotel, so we went back to retrieve it." Fuu replied flippantly. Kaito pouted at that as he went to stand by them.

"San? You don't address me like that."

"Because I neither like nor respect you as a person."

"Ouch. That was harsh."

Fuu was about to walk away when she felt the feeling of someone staring at her. Turning, she was greeted by the grinning face of Naruto, who took her eye contact as an invitation to walk towards her. Maintaining his grin, he held his hand out towards her as she stared down at it before back up at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I never got to thank you for what you did back during the first half of the exams. Remember, when you found me in the hallway passed out and helped me out? I just wanted to say thanks."

Staring down at his hand, she tentatively held out her own as Naruto grabbed it in a firm grip. Instantly, a shock ran throughout the two that both of them noticed. They both looked up at each other with wide eyes, silent as they tried to figure out what had just happened. The sound of murmuring in his mind caught his attention as Naruto realized it was the Kyuubi.

' _Hey, you're actually woke for once. Any idea what the hell that shock was that ran through me after I touched Fuu?'_ He asked figuring that since he was inside of him, he might of had an idea.

" **Actually, I know exactly what it was."**

' _Great! Mind sharing it with me?'_

" **Well I could, but in all honesty I feel as though it would be more entertaining for me if you found out on your own."** The kyuubi replied, taking pride in the fact that he could sense Naruto's annoyance. **"Oh? Feeling a little annoyed are you? Now you know what my entire existence has consisted of ever since I was sealed inside of you."**

' _Ass. Hole.'_ Naruto thought as the sound of a throat clearing brought him back to the word of the living. Looking over, he saw that Fuu was giving him a weird look. "Um, could you let go of my hand now?" She asked as Naruto realized that he must of spaced out again.

"Ahh, sorry about that!" He said quickly releasing her hand and rubbing the back of his head. "I tend to space out at random times, it's a sickness really...Anyways, thanks for what you did back then." He finished giving her a warm smile. She simply looked away the smallest hint of a blush on her face, mumbling a barely audible 'it was nothing' before walking away. Kaito, who was finishing up his fervorous apology, noticed Fuu leaving and ran to catch up to her. Aito followed, sparing Naruto a small nod as he passed by him.

Turning back towards his teammates, he sweatdropped at the sight of Ino holding Shikamaru in a bear hug. "Honestly I expect things like that out of Whiskers but from you Shika? My heart is truly moved!" Ignoring his looks for help, Naruto looked back out over the stadium as Team Gai and 7 made their way back over to them.

"Looks like they're about to announce the matchups." Tenten remarked as Naruto looked down to see Darui walking out into the middle of the field. Clearing his throat, the man raised his hands to signal they were ready to get started and to get the crowd to calm down.

"Alright, it's about time we get this show on the road. For this years final exam we will be having a tournament style, one on one matches between the remaining genin. The match ups will be set up by a auto generated, random order system so as to keep things fair. Participants will have a thirty minute match limit to either knock out or force the opposing side into verbally surrendering in order to achieve a victory. If no definite outcome is reached by the end of the 30 minute mark, both participants will be disqualified and prevented from moving forward."

"Wow, that's a little harsh." Sakura remarked obviously out off by that specific rule.

"Not really, I mean when you think about it your average shinobi fight doesn't even come close to reaching thirty minutes. Plus with the Kage's being here and all I doubt they want to drag this thing out." Shikamaru said as Darui continued speaking.

"The rules for these battles are rather simple; No direct killing of your opponent and if a projector says that the match is over, it's over. Any direct dismissal of these two rules will result in disqualification. Other than that, everything else permitted." He said pausing to allow his words to set in. "Now then, if you'd turn your attention to the screen ahead we will show the matchups for the first round."

Right on cue, the jumbo screen flashed to life with the following names appearing in order:

1\. Naruto Uzumaki Vs. Kaito Urena

2\. Shikamaru Nara Vs. Neji Hyuuga

3\. Gaara Vs. Rock Lee

4\. Akatsuchi Vs. Kentaru Otomo

5\. Sakura Haruno Vs. Samui

6\. Fuu Vs. Kankuro

7\. Temari Vs. Ino Yamanaka

8\. Aito Urena Vs. Tenten Higarashi

9\. Kanbaru Oshino Vs. Karui

10\. Kurosutchi Vs. Sakaki Akari

11\. Omoi Vs. Kenji Kubo

12\. Sasuke Uchiha Vs. Kiba Inuzuka

Seeing that his name was first on the list, Naruto looked over to Kaito, who gave him a condescending smile and wave in return. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna' kick his ass…"

Up in the Kage's booth Iwagakure's leader, Onoki, let out a small chuckle at the board's results. "Look's like your genin class went all out this year Hiruzen, having three teams in the final round is quite the accomplishment. In unfamiliar territory no less."

The Raikage, A, spared Onoki a small glance at the hidden slight against his village before return to resting his face on his fist.

"I can sense great potential coming from all of these young shinobi, the future appears to be in great hands. Wouldn't you agree Kazekage-san?" Hiruzen asked smiling down at the competitors. The Kazekage hummed in agreement, never taking his eyes off of the arena.

"Still, having to wait until the last round to see the famed 'Last Uchiha' has put a damper on things. I was hoping to see whether or not he lived up to the hype, though they rarely do." Onoki remarked. "Not like he'll be making it far if my Kurosutchi has anything to say about it."

"It's starting." A said irritably hoping to stop the older man's continuing blabbering. Walking back to the middle of the field, Darui held everyone's attention as he prepared to start the first match.

"Alright, let's get things started. Will Naruto Uzumaki and Kaito Urena come down to the arena!"

"Good luck out there Whiskers, and be careful." Ino said giving him a quick pat on the cheek. Naruto swatted her hand away as he gave a quick fist bump to Shikamaru before heading down the stairs. Walking out into the middle of the arena calmly, he looked up to see Kaito giving him his ever present grin.

"Going for the cool and collected look huh? I can dig it." he said stretching a little. "Just know that ol' Kaito is gonna' break that demeanor _real_ quick."

Keeping his composure on the outside, Naruto was bursting with energy inside of his mind as he tried to contain his excitement.

' _This is it! All of that training and mental abuse from traveling with Ero-sennin is finally about to be put to use! Holy shit I'm so excited I could just, I could just-'_

" **Shut. Up. Please."** The kyuubi replied breaking him out if his spell. **"You have been going on about how excited you are inside your head since this morning, at this point I'd much rather you voice your opinion outside than having it reverbing inside of here."**

' _No way, I've got to appear calm and composed on the outside. That's how you get extra points!'_

" **...Everyday you remind me more and more of how much of an Idiot you are."**

Up in the stands, Kurenai looked over at Asuma who was staring down at Naruto pensively. "So, are you confident that your genin is going to make it out of the first round?"

"Naruto? Oh he's going to make it out of the first round. He could be going up against the Sage of Six paths himself and still find a way to win, based off his stubbornness alone." Asuma said with a smile. "I'm just interested to see whether or not he's going to need to rely on that stubbornness, or can he do it by actually out fighting his opponent."

Naruto was strong, that Asuma knew for a fact. However, whether it be during his spars with Asuma himself or from what he saw during missions, Naruto had a habit of not actually beating his opponents outright, but either outlasting or pulling something out of his ass at the last minute to give him the edge he needed. While it had worked so far, Asuma knew that sooner or later, Naruto's luck would run out and there wouldn't be any schemes or lucky happenings for him to fall back on.

' _Show me-no, show everyone that you can truly handle yourself as a shinobi should. This is what you've always wanted kid, all eyes are squarely focused on you.'_ He thought to himself as he observed the look of ambition of his student's face.

"Are you two ready?" Darui asked looking between the two. A nod from both of them confirmed so, and Darui held his hand up before bringing it down as he jumped away. "Then begin!"

Immediately Kaito broke out into a sprint, though what really surprised Naruto was that it wasn't towards him. Watching him curiously for a moment, his eyes widened in recognition as he realized where he was going. "Shit!" He yelled running after the boy, though he already knew it was too late.

Turning around with a spin to face the blonde, Kaito smiled as he finished his last set of hand seals. " **Water Release: Evil Windmill Water Shuriken!"**

Two large shuriken's made of water appeared from the body of water behind him, Naruto swearing as he stopped in his tracks and turned around to run away from them. The shuriken's followed his every move as he desperately tried to throw them off of his trail.

"You're not getting away, not as long as I have control over them!" Kaito yelled as a small trickle of sweat poured down the side of his head. Naruto continued to run farther and farther away from his position, making it harder for him to keep up his control.

"Alright then, looks like I'm just going to have to break that concentration of yours!" Naruto yelled making a cross with his fingers. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Two clones popped into existence that quickly jumped away from his position. The water shurikens continued to follow after the original though, getting Kaito to laugh as he figured the boy's plan had failed. "Did you really think that a plan like that would work on- wait a minute…"

His boasting was cut short as he realized the clones not only broke away from Naruto's position, but were also running right towards him. And neither of them looked friendly.

"Shit, I'm not gonna' be able to dodge them while holding this jutsu up…" Kaito said thinking over his choices. As the clones closed in though, he had no other choice but to let go of the jutsu. "Damn it!"

Naruto watched as the two fuma shuriken's dissolved back into regular water and fell onto the ground. Skidding to a stop, he turned back towards Kaito who had managed to take care of the two clones.

Before he could perform the jutsu again, Naruto quickly covered the distance between them with a burst of speed. Stopping just in front of him, he jumped into the air as Kaito sent a sweeping kick at his feet. Twisting in the air, he pulled out a kunai and attempted to strike down on him, but Kaito blocked it with one of his own before pushing the blonde back.

Before he could reach the ground again, Kaito was back upon him swiping away with his kunai. Naruto managed to deflect most of the strikes with his own though one managed to sneak through and nick him on the face. Growling, the two collided one final time as Naruto took the opportunity to grab hold of his shoulder and flip over his back, kicking him in the process to put some distance between them.

Landing, Naruto formed two more shadow clones who went on either side of Kaito, with him going straight up the middle. Backing up with the use of multiple flips, the Taki shinobi simultaneously performed hand seals as he held his hand up to his mouth. **"Water Release: Water Cannon Technique!"**

With the use of his hands, he turned the attack into a three way stream that went at all three Naruto's. The two clones branched out to the left and right to dodge, while Naruto himself jumped into the air. Both clones pulled out two sets of shuriken that they threw in Kaito's direction. He was about to dodge when he realized that the shuriken would miss him on their own, standing still as they whirled right past him. Clanking against each other in mid air, the shuriken's projectory changed as they circled around the boy's legs.

It was then that two clones pulled on the wires they had attached to the projectiles, and they tightened around him. Sliding to a stop, they threw the other two shurikens with the wires attached to them up to the still airborne Naruto, who caught them deftly. With a beastly roar, he pulled the unsuspecting boy up into the air, where with an exceptional showing of strength he began to spin him around the ring. The crowd reacted in amazement as Naruto continued to gain momentum before eventually letting go, sending Kaito crashing into the side of the arena and creating a mini crater.

The crowd broke into cheers while back in the Kage's booth, Hiruzen looked on with a content smile. A himself had sat up from his leaning position, now watching the fight with a little more interest. "That was a fine showing of physical prowess, eh? I know plenty of grown men who wouldn't be able to pull of a move like that."

"If there is one thing Naruto-kun is not lacking in, raw strength is it. What's most impressive is that it finally seems his mind has been cultivated enough that he can effectively use that strength." Hiruzen replied to the Raikage's praise. Onoki was watching the battle silently, staring at the blonde boy intently as he landed back down on to the ground. In the competitors block, Ino was barely hanging onto the balcony as she cheered her fellow teammate on.

"That's my Naruto-kun, kick that blue haired pervert's ass to hell and back!" Ino yelled as Shikamaru held onto her top to prevent her from falling in. Tenten whistled from where she was standing, sharing the look of amazement the others had as well.

"I had no idea Naruto was so strong." Sakura remarked as her, Sasuke and Kiba continued to watch on from their spot.

Back in the arena, Naruto brushed some stray hairs out of his vision as he tried to catch his breath a little. _'Maybe I should have gotten a haircut before this thing, it's been a little over a month since my last one.'_

Those thoughts were put on hold however as the smoke from Kaito's impact was dispersing, showing the boy had fell down to the ground from where he hit the wall. Shakily rising up to his knees, he glared at Naruto through one eye as he tried to catch his breath as well.

"That's it," He said breathlessly standing up to his feet. "I am going to _destroy_ you."

"Try me." Naruto replied bluntly. He was shocked however when he noticed what particular jutsu Kaito was planning on using next based on the seal's he was using. _'The hell? There's no way there's enough water around here to pull that off.'_

Kaito however had finished his preparations, putting his hands together as a thick mist began to fall over the arena.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu, hm…" Onoki remarked with a little surprise in his voice. "And for a genin it's a pretty effective one, especially seeing as he isn't from Kirigakure."

"Indeed it is, however because of the lack of natural water to build off of he is forced to use a great amount of his own chakra to uphold the technique. The mist is saturated with it, which can be both a good and bad occurrence. I fear in his case it will most likely be the later." Hiruzen added looking into the white abyss.

Naruto meanwhile was not having a good time, holding his nose closed as he peered around the mist aimlessly. Not only was his vision being messed with, but the overwhelming smell and saturation of Kaito's chakra was messing with his senses. Growling, his instincts barely had enough time to kick in as he narrowly dodged a Kunai aimed at his side. He turned in the direction that it seemingly came from, only to yelp out in pain as another one came from the opposite direction, embedding itself deep in his shoulder.

"Ohh, that looked like it hurt." Kaito said mockingly as Naruto fell down to his knee, clutching at the wound. "How about I give you a couple more just to be sure?"

He caught the slight sound of movement to his left, before without warning a punch landed on his jaw, followed by a kick to his stomach that sent him sliding back somewhat. He was expecting more, but it seemed Kaito was smart enough to not try to get into a taijutsu match even with having the upper hand in the mist, as now Naruto had to dodge another shuriken that whipped past him.

Pulling the kunai out in his shoulder from earlier, Naruto suppressed a pained yelled as he glared in no particular direction. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he let it out slowly as he formed a single hand sign. **"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Immediately the entire arena was filled with clones of Naruto, who all stood in preparation of a fight. All in all, Naruto had created a few hundred clones that practically took up the entire floor space.

"If you're going to hide then so am I. What are you gonna' do now water boy? There's no way for you to take out all of us with those shitty jutsu's of yours!" All of the clones said at once, getting Kaito to growl in frustration.

"Oh yeah? Well just watch me, I'm going to take all you bastard's out!" Kaito yelled from somewhere in the mist. He began to perform another jutsu, all the while Naruto maintained the smirk on his face. "How about this then!" He yelled finishing up. **"Water Release: Water Shuriken Technique"**

Unlike the last instance, this time around the shurikens were much smaller but much more plentiful in response to the number of clones. They rained down upon the many versions of Naruto, who were dispelling left and right as the shurikens continued to fall.

Up in the stands, Temari hummed to herself as she took in the technique. "Wow, that's pretty impressive." Kankuro nodded in agreement, leaning on the rail with a lofty grin on his face.

"That Konoha brat is in trouble now, not only can't he see where they're coming from but with so many of them he's bound to take some serious damage." He remarked with his sister nodding in agreement. Gaara stared down at the arena passively, his eyes darting over to Fuu as she let out a sigh from her position watching.

"Well, looks like this match is over. You should probably get ready to go console your brother, that's what siblings do right?" She said boredly. Aito closed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What is she talking about? Looks to me like Naruto is the one in trouble to me." Sakura said confusedly as she looked back down into the arena, though none of them could really see anything due to the mixture of smoke and mist. Shikamaru shook his head in disagreement while continuing to watch the fight.

"No, this fight is over. Naruto won this match the minute Kaito used that shuriken jutsu to be honest." Shikamaru said as Sakura, Tenten, Lee, and Kiba looked over at him in confusement.

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked with a frown. A grunt from Sasuke attracted everyone's attention as he flashed he sharingan quickly to stare down into the mist.

"He's right, it's been over since the beginning. Look closer into the arena, don't you notice anything different from a few moments ago?" Sasuke said as the others looked down. They could see the clones still being dispelled, though the rate of water shuriken coming in was much slower compared to even just a few seconds ago.

Wait a minute.

"We can actually see what's going on now," Sakura said. "The mist, is it starting to go away?"

"I think I get what you all are getting at now," Tenten remarked, nodding to herself as she began to understand what was going on. "He's beginning to run out of chakra isn't he?"

"Exactly, and it's happening fast. He's been throwing out big jutsu's since this match started, and maintaining them for an extended period of time at that. He's wasted way too much chakra, and now his techniques are starting to give out. It doesn't make it any better that he's been using water ninjutsu in a particular dry terrain." Shikamaru said as the mist began to clear even more. "Naruto on the other hand has barely used any chakra at all, at least in terms of his monster reserves. He's damn near fresh out there still."

Back on the field, the water shurikens had all but stopped and there were still a good amount clones still in existence. Naruto was now actively scanning the area for any signs of Kaito, now that his senses were back working and his vision wasn't as obscured. _'The fact that none of my clones ran into him and we were practically covering the entire floor means…'_

Looking up, it didn't take him long to see Kaito hanging from the side of the arena's wall, sticking to it with chakra while he panted heavily from exhaustion. Smirking, Naruto dispelled the last of his clones as the mist all but disappeared. Walking forward, he stopped until he was just underneath Kaito, holding his smile while the boy glared down at him. "You look pretty tired, maybe you should go ahead and give up, save yourself the embarrassment."

"Whatever, this is nothing! And with that wound on your shoulder, it'll basically be child's play taking you down now." Kaito growled out hopping down from the wall and charging at Naruto with another Kunai drawn. Swiping at his neck, Naruto easily side stepped that and the next attempt at injuring him. After one particular sloppy strike, he used Kaito's momentum against him to swipe his feet from out beneath. With a grunt, he brought his other leg up and powered kicked the falling boy directly in his stomach, with Kaito spitting out a little blood from the attack.

Not letting up, Naruto followed with another kick from the opposite leg to keep him airborne long enough for Naruto jump above. With a final twirl, he slammed the boy with one final kick into his back, slamming him on the ground chest first. Though he was too in the zone to notice, the crowd was reacting animatedly to his showcasing of taijutsu.

The blue haired boy shriveled up from his position as he held his stomach in pain. Naruto backed away slightly, staring down at him emotionlessly as the boy coughed up a large amount of blood. It was at this point that Darui appeared between the two, holding his hand up to signal the match had ended.

"That's it, this match is over with!" He said out loud as they medics made their way onto the field. They picked up Kaito and placed him on a stretcher as he continued to hold on to his abdomen in pain, hurriedly being carried off the field. The crowd erupted into cheers as Naruto raised his good arm to rub the back of his head, grinning back at them and relishing the praise he was getting. In the mix of the crowd, Tsunade checked off a box while Shizune applauded happily, shaking her head as she looked down at him.

"That brat is brutal, it may not of looked like much to the untrained eye but that first kick was holding a lot of power in it. He likely broke a couple of that boy's ribs with that one blow." Tsunade remarked as Jiraiya smiled down at his own student.

"If there's one thing that kid isn't lacking in, it's strength. I know that first hand." He said, mirroring the words his sensei had said earlier. Said Kage was currently clapping as well, the pride on his face not at all being hidden as he smiled down warmly at the boy he had known since a baby.

' _You have grown immensely Naruto-kun, I know that both of your parents would proud of the shinobi you are becoming.'_ He thought as Naruto exited the arena. Onoki snorted as the cheers began to calm down.

"It was a good fight, though nothing all that impressive. That Takigakure brat was ill advised for wasting all his chakra that early, anybody with even a little patience would have won that match. And that shoulder injury of his isn't going to bold well for future matches." He said as A rolled his eyes.

"Your bias is beginning to show old man, don't blow a fuse. Though I could see why you would be upset, seeing as he's the spitting image of the man who almost single handedly took care of your village in the past." The Raikage remarked with a condescending smirk. Onoki however took it in stride, focusing on the other half of his remark instead.

"So I'm not the only one who picked up on that little detail huh? I mean really Hiruzen, did you honestly think no one would be able to tell? He's a carbon copy, exactly down to the hairstyle." Onoki said with the smallest hint of disdain in his voice. "So that man went and had a secret son eh? Though we've well moved past those times, I could understand why you would want to keep that detail on tight leash, his old man did have a lot of _enemies_ after all."

"Be that as it may, Naruto is _well_ protected and already has made relationships with some powerful shinobi in the world. I have no doubt that he will be fine even with his father's past foes in mind." Hiruzen replied, the vague threat behind it not being lost on anyone.

"Going off of that showing I doubt he'll be needing any protecting in the first place." A remarked. Even if it wasn't his shinobi, he couldn't not acknowledge a strong fighter when he saw one.

Back in the competitor's box, Naruto was being glomped into a hug by Ino, who was spouting about how proud she was of her 'Whisker-kun'. Managing to break away, he took a seat against the wall and let out a sigh as Sakura and Tenten came to kneel on either side of him.

"Here, we got some bandages from the medic's down at the bay for your wound." Sakura said handing them over. Naruto took them with a grateful smile, grunting as he slid his jacket off and rolled his shirt up.

"I-I can help you with that if you want?" Tenten said, holding back a blush at the sight of his bare body, along with Sakura. Naruto grinned obliviously and handed them over to her.

"Hey, thanks Tenten-chan!"

"Don't get too comfortable over there Whisker's, remember you're mines only!"

Tenten sweatdropped at the two's interaction as she finished wrapping the wound. Moving his arm in a circular motion, Naruto winced a little as he found he couldn't raise it too high yet. Getting up, he walked back over to the other others just as Shikamaru was about to head down.

"Give him hell Shika!" Ino said giving him a quick hug before he could react. Pushing her off of him, he nodded at Tenten and Sakura's wishes of good luck as he met Naruto who walked with him over to the stairs. Turning around, he noticed the serious look on the blonde's face as he stared over at him.

"Shika…" Naruto started, looking away as he seemed uncertain of whether or not he wanted to say the words he was going to say. Shikamaru held up a hand to tell the blonde to stop, already knowing what was about to come out of his mouth.

"You don't have to tell me of all people, I know full well what I'm walking into." Shikamaru said as Naruto looked up at him solemnly. "I got put up against one of the worst possible matchups for me, a taijutsu specialist who's not going to let me rest at all. It's a shitty situation but I'll make do somehow. So stop giving that pitiful look."

Smiling, Naruto held his fist out for Shikamaru to pound, which he did with a smile of his own. "Give em' hell, Shika."

"Just make sure you're watching closely." Shikamaru said turning to walk down the stairs. Hearing footsteps behind him, Naruto turned to see Neji walking towards the stairs as well, his eyes closed while he walked past him.

"Congratulations on making it past the first round, must be quite the accomplishment for someone of your caliber." Neji said haughtily getting Naruto to turn around. "Don't worry, I won't hurt your other failure of a friend too bad. I'd save that concern for yourself."

With that, Neji continued down to the field with Naruto watching him until he turned out of sight. Letting out a sigh, he turned to head back towards the others and to watch the fight.

"What a dick."

* * *

 **(Back in Konoha)**

The Konoha academy decided to host a viewing of the exams for the younger students as a way to provide them with shinobi experience and inspiration. While all the academy students were present as they normally were, there was one oddball out of the young group of students.

That oddball was the young Hanabi Hyuuga, who while still not currently enrolled in the academy officially had been given permission from the her father to attend the showcase. Now that in itself wasn't exactly enough to cause a major shift in the atmosphere of the room, but rather what came along with the young girl.

The clan head himself.

And so while the rest of the room was rowdy with children chatter and antics, there was a small area in the middle of the room that was for the most part quiet, with the children surrounding him intimidated into good behavior and silence just by his presence. A part of this group were Konohamaru and co., who were trying their best to subdue their emotions after seeing Naruto win in the first round. That is, until a voice broke out from above that caught his attention.

"Naruto-oniichan is so awesome!"

Looking up curiously, Konohamaru stared down the young Hyuuga girl as she beamed at the screen showing the boy walking off of the field. He wasn't the only one however, as both Hiashi and Hinata, who had all but fully recovered from her injuries, were looking at her in shock as well. Hinata was the first speak up, surprisingly coherent and firm in her speech.

"How do you know Naruto-kun?" she asked as the younger sister looked over at her.

"We meet during one of my training sessions outsi- I-I mean he came to clan compound once to check on you, that's right!" She said quickly righting herself. While it may have worked on Hinata, who was mumbling something incoherent about Naruto checking on her, Hiashi eyes lingered on her a little longer before staring forward to the screen again.

He was well aware of who Naruto was and his 'special' status, as was anyone who held a high ranking position in the village was. While he had never truly interacted with the boy directly, his two daughter's positive reaction to his fight had piped his interest. Any further thoughts were interrupted however as he noticed Neji taking the field with Shikamaru following behind him.

"I want you two to pay close attention to this match. Take in as much as you can in terms of how a Hyuuga should fight." He stated authoritatively as the two prepared to begin. Hanabi nodded silently, while Hinata looked away momentarily as the screen flashed on Neji's face.

Needless to say, she was feeling pretty conflicted at the moment.

* * *

 **(In the arena)**

It was a funny feeling, Shikamaru had to admit. It wasn't a situation that he hadn't been in before, and it wouldn't be the last time either, but for some reason this instance felt especially vexing. Probably because of the person he was going up against wasn't exactly the most likeable in terms of personality.

He was a practical man, all Nara's were. So it wasn't exactly hard for him to admit to himself when he was overmatched. Quite the contrary, it was easy for him to do so, and that was one of the reasons he was still effective in battle even without being the most imposing figure physically wise.

The guy you're going up against is better than you? Great, that's fine and dandy. It's too late for you to do anything about that, so you've got to deal with the hand you've been dealt with. Poker faces, bluffing, traps, and all of the other backhanded tactics you could think of were going to be your best friends for the next few minutes, so you've better set them up effectively and accordingly prior to so you don't get your ass absolutely handed to you.

That was Shikamaru's way of handling things. But once again, the Nara was a practical man, a realist, and he knew that sometimes that way of handling things wouldn't be an option for him.

This was one of those times.

Neji himself would be a problem even if he had time to set up traps and schemes anticipating him as an opponent. The boy was just that good, and Shikamaru knew it. So the fact that he hadn't had anytime to set things up before hand, and he had only the duration of Naruto's first match to think of something on the fly had brought of his odds of winning down even more.

He knew it, Neji most likely knew it, hell even _Naruto_ had managed to piece it together, though he was starting to realize he wasn't giving the blonde as much credit in the intelligence department as he should be.

And so, as Darui raised his hand to signal that the match was about to begin, Shikamaru decided to take a page out of his previous mentioned teammate's handbook of thought processes entering a match.

Fuck it.

The moment Darui's hand began to drop, Shikamaru launched a set of kunai in Neji's direction while backing up a sizeable distance. It proved to be the right move, as Neji was planning on charging straight in for a quick finish but was forced to defer instead to dodging the incoming projectiles. Rebounding from the slight distraction, Neji looked up to see that Shikamaru had disappeared from his viewpoint, scanning the arena quickly for any sign of him. Smirking, he crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Honestly, to think you could hide…" He said aloud before his eyes shot open, clearly in the famed Byakugan form. "...from these eyes." Another quick look around showed Shikamaru hiding behind one of the pillars, looking over his shoulder to where Neji was standing. "Come out and face your fate with at least some form of courage Nara!"

Shikamaru however prompted to stay exactly where he was, sweat trickling down his face as he continued to watch Neji advance. Taking a deep breath, he took his eyes off of Neji for a split second to fish something out of his pocket and drop it on the ground. Looking back up, he did a double take when he realized he couldn't see the Hyuuga anywhere.

"Looking for me?"

Shikamaru didn't even bother looking up, simply rolling out of the way as Neji came down from atop the boulder with a palm thrust aimed at him. Tugging on the wire that he had dropped onto the ground earlier, a kunai with a sticky bomb attached to it came shooting from out of the dirt and into Shikamaru's hand, who quickly caught it and reversed it back to an unsuspecting Neji.

Cursing, Neji quickly planted his feet on the ground and held his palms out to the side. **"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"**

Spinning in a circle, a blue dome of chakra began to surround his body just as the Kunai and explosive tag reached him, causing both to bounce harmlessly off the technique as the force of the blast was redirected by the jutsu and dispersed in a circular motion around the area Neji occupied, effectively knocking Shikamaru back further with the shockwave it gave off.

Back in Konoha, Hiashi's eyes widened as he witnessed Neji perform the technique that was only supposed to be passed down within the main branch. _'There's no way he could have possibly learned to perform that technique all on his own, the only way he could have done so would be if…'_

But that wasn't even plausible in his mind. He knew that Neji was talented even among the Hyuuga clan, but to be able to learn a technique of that caliber by only observation would be something else entirely.

"He's good." Hanabi remarked in a trance like state watching the battle with her full attention. Hinata could only nod in agreement as even she was amazed by seeing such a feat.

Spinning to a stop, Neji let out the breath he had been holding in as he tried to rest for moment. _'It seems it still takes quite a bit of effort for me to maintain that technique for extended periods of time. I'd do best to remember that detail for the remainder of the exams.'_ He thought to himself as he looked over to where Shikamaru was standing.

"That's a troublesome move you've got up your sleeve there," Shikamaru remarked as he pulled out a kunai to defend himself. Neji's frown was still in place though as he dropped into a taijutsu stance.

"I was hoping to not have to pull it out so early in the exams." Neji said narrowing his eyes at the boy. "I can see now that toying around with you will yield me no fruit in the long run, so I believe it's time that I get serious."

No more words had a chance to be exchanged after that as Neji charged directly towards the Nara, though this time there was nothing to stop him from getting in close. Shikamaru grunted as he managed to dodge the first couple palm thrusts sent his way, but he could tell even then that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.

"Shika's in trouble…" Naruto mumbled from the stands as he watched the fight. Ino's grip on the railing tightened as she saw that a few of Neji's attacks were starting to break through his defense.

"Come on Shika, not like this…" She said worriedly as one particularly strong hit reached his left shoulder.

Falling backwards, he barely had enough time to move out of the way as Neji brought his foot down to where his head was previously resting. Rolling back up to his knees, he found that the area's Neji had managed to hit him in were throbbing in pain, much more than they should have based on the amount of power that was put into those attacks.

' _This must be a result of the Gentle Fist art all Hyuuga's specialize in.'_ Shikamaru thought as he tried to catch his breath. Seeing as Neji wasn't going to wait around for him to recover, he rose to his feet slowly, looking over at the smirking Hyuuga who was without a doubt enjoying the match so far. "You know, that smile of yours really pisses me off."

"Really? Then maybe you should do something about it, if you can that is." Charging towards him once again, Neji noticed that Shikamaru had dropped his defense, and was simply standing there with his arms at his side. "Giving up already? Well I guess to be expected, you've finally resigned to your fate!"

"God I wish you'd shut up, this is going to hurt enough as it is…" Shikamaru mumbled to himself as Neji finally reached him.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it's over quick!" Neji said reaching both of his palms back. With a grunt, he thrusted them forward straight into Shikamaru's chest as he took a deep breath just before impact. The attack sent a powerful chakra burst through Shikamaru's chest, but that wasn't the only thing it collided with.

The moment Neji made contact with Shikamaru's chest, a blue mist shot from somewhere within his shirt and sprayed directly into the the boy's face. As Shikamaru was sent flying backwards, Neji roared in pain as he stumbled away, clutching at his face as he fell to his knees. Landing on the ground, Shikamaru spat out a small amount blood as he reached up to grab at the area he was struck at on his chest. Needless to say, his prediction that it would hurt was the right one.

Still, it got the job done as now the poison he had hidden in his chest made direct contact with Neji, or rather his eyes which was the whole point of him choosing direct contact in the first place.

' _Good thing he's a cocky bastard and I have experience with dealing with one or else there's no way that would've worked.'_ Shikamaru thought as he struggled to stand up to his feet. He could see that Neji had turned off his Byakugan and was still holding his eyes in pain, but Shikamaru knew it would only be matter of time before he recovered enough to react to what was happening around him.

Figuring he didn't have much time left to get done what he needed to, as his chest also felt like it was caving in at the moment. Pulling out a piece of string, he securely wrapped it around a shuriken he grabbed from within his chest before tossing it over at Neji, who even while being currently impaired still managed to catch it with one of his hands.

"You and your damn tricks, did you honestly think you'd be able to catch me off guard that easily, just by taking out my eyesight?" He taunted in a strained voice as he peered him through the corner of one his eyes.

"Yes, yes I did actually. And I succeeded." Shikamaru replied as he performed a single hand seal. **"Shadow Paralysis Jutsu"**

Neji's heart fell into his chest at the sound of those words as he quickly tried to move his body only to find that he couldn't. Grunting, he tried with even more force to break through the technique, yelling from the amount of exertion he was putting into trying to break free.

"H-how could I fall for such a simple trick, I should've known that this was what you had up your sleeve all along!" Neji roared as he continued to try to break free. Up in the stands, Ino let out a loud "Whoo-hoo!" as she hung over the balcony much like earlier, the only thing keeping her from falling being Naruto holding on to her by her top.

"That's my Shika, prodigy my ass! Nobody's a match for Team 10 Damn it!" She yelled as Naruto smiled nervously at her declaration.

"You know, I somehow feel like the roles should be reversed here…" He said as she continued her outburst. "Still, that was some quick thinking on Shikamaru's end, there was no way he would've been able to get Neji with his shadow possession technique if he had his Byakugan active, and using the shadow made from the rope allowed for him to trap Neji without worrying about the distance limit his technique has."

"So that's what the rope was for? I was wondering what the purpose of that little bit was." Tenten asked looking down at the field. She was impressed by the simple yet elaborate plan, but also felt a tinge of sorrow for her teammate as well, no matter how much of a dick he could be. "Damn it Neji…"

Back in the arena, Neji was still struggling to break free but to no avail as no matter what he tried his body refused to move. Unbeknownst to him Shikamaru was also having a little problem of his own that was keeping him from setting up the final step of his plan.

' _Damn it, those Gentle Fist attacks must of did more damage to me than I thought, it's taking everything I have in me just to keep the jutsu under my control. If I even think about moving, I doubt I'm going to be able to keep this up.'_ He thought to himself as his breathing became a little more erratic. _'Not only that, but my chest feels like it's on fire right now. Even in my best condition I can only hold this jutsu for around five minutes, so as it stands I'm going to end up running out of time.'_

And judging by the look on Neji's face, he had figured out this little detail. All of his previous struggling had ceased as he simply stared over Shikamaru with a calculative look. The smallest hint of a smile came on his face as he began to connect the dots of what was happening.

"You've had me trapped in this little jutsu of yours for the past minute but still haven't made any attempt to win the match." He said calming down as Shikamaru's breathing became even more erratic. "And I highly doubt it's from lack of trying, you aren't able to do anything are you? It seems you didn't take into account the after effects of the Gentle Fist, I've already managed to shut down a few of Tenketsu points, including a very important cluster in the your chest area. I doubt you have the control to do anything more but hold this jutsu in place."

"Well then I guess my plan B of bluffing myself into you quitting isn't going to work out too well." Shikamaru said seeing as Neji had seen through his problem. "Guess we'll have to fall back on plan C then."

Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru closed his eyes before standing up to his full height. Turning to where Darui was standing, he held his hand up and gave a lazy wave to attract his attention.

"Yo, I'm dropping out."

For a moment, the entire stadium was silent. Neji blinked as he realized he had regained control over his body, but still hadn't moved from his position as he watched Shikamaru put his hand back down to his side. Finally, a sound broke through the silence that had fell upon the area.

"Oi, Shika! What the fuck?!"

Naruto and Ino's simultaneous outburst was all it took for the arena to break out into a series of boo's as a result of the anticlimactic ending. Shikamaru contemplated giving everyone in the crowd a finger, but decided against it seeing as it would be more troublesome for him in the long run. _'They'll get over it by the next fight.'_

Up in the stands, Asuma was currently banging his head on the railing in front of him, muttering 'lazy bastard' over and over again. Kakashi hummed to himself as Darui held up his hand to signify that his request was heard and the match was over. "Shikamaru Nara has forfeited, which means Neji Hyuuga will move on to the next round!"

"Well, that was an interesting way for things to end," Kurenai said trying to console Asuma somewhat. "Shikamaru-kun was completely out of his element there, it's surprising that he did as well as he did."

"Oh he did better than well, in fact if it wasn't for the rules of the tournament Shikamaru would have won this battle." Kakashi said looking down into the arena. "Take a look at what's transpiring."

Shikamaru waved off Darui after he asked if he wanted to receive medical attention, making his way over to the stairs to head back up to the competitor's booth. Neji finally stood up, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding as Shikamaru passed him. "Hopefully now you understand. Failures are always meant to be failures, no matter how hard they try to escape their destiny. It's fate."

"You're still going on about that fate crap. Honestly, you're quickly rising up my ranks in being the most annoying person I've met, and that's including my two teammates up in the stands. You've met them before right?" Shikamaru said closing his eyes and continuing on. "Maybe you should review what just happened in our battle before you come talking to me about that 'fate' crap again. This _failure_ already accomplished what he set out to do during this exam. Oh, and you can keep the shuriken by the way. Consider it a gift from me."

Frowning, Neji stared down at the shuriken he was holding in his hands before his face turned paler than it's already natural pasty state. Unraveling his hand, he could see clearly now the sticky bomb tag that was wrapped securely around it. The meaning behind it wasn't lost on the Hyuuga, who glared down at it angrily as his fist shook at his side.

If this was a real battle, he would've been dead a long time ago. He was only saved because of the exams policy on no killing.

Turning around to face the Nara, he saw that he was already well out of sight. Cursing, he tossed the shuriken over to Darui who caught it deftly, walking slowly back up to the competitors box not at all showing the joy someone who had just passed on to the next round should be showing.

"Well that was an interesting one. Turned out a lot a better than I was expecting regardless of that lackluster ending." Onoki said looking over at Hiruzen. "Thoughts?"

"They both fought well, but Shikamaru-kun showed exceptional poise in a battle that he was clearly outmatched in from the beginning. Not only that, but he still found a way to win in his own right, even though he won't be participating in the next round." Hiruzen said with a complacent nod. "While it may not have been the excitement we were looking for, it was representative of a real shinobi battle. Besides, I have a feeling this next skirmish won't be lacking in the excitement department."

"Damned rules, I should have went over them more thoroughly than I did for exploitable loopholes…" A growled clearly displeased by the outcome of the match, looking over at Hiruzen. "There's no excuse for that boy losing that match when he clearly had the upper hand. I'm not telling you how to run your village, but if it was me…"

"Shikamaru-kun's future was already certified perhaps before even this match started, I was well aware of his ingenious nature before the exams even started. If anything this has done nothing but solidify my thoughts." Hiruzen answered putting his worries at ease.

Back in the competitor's area, Shikamaru was for the second time today subjecting himself to a hug from Ino as she tried to console him on his lost. "You did your best out there, that's all that matters you know?"

"Will you stop treating me like I'm a five year old who just lost a youth league soccer game," Shikamaru said tiredly, grunting as her hugged tightened even more. "Seriously, my chest is killing me and you aren't helping right now."

"Maybe you should go get checked out, you sure you didn't break anything?" Naruto asked as Ino finally released Shikamaru from her grasp. Walking up against the back wall, Shikamaru leaned against it as he took a seat.

"I'm fine, trust me I would know if something was broken or not. Now that I'm not using any chakra really it doesn't even hurt as much, I'm more tired than anything." He said, the yawn coming in towards the end supporting his words. Naruto nodded in understanding, turning around as it sounded like the next match was about to begin. He was going to wish Lee good luck, but when he looked at where the was standing all he saw was a green blur leaping off the balcony and into the arena, despite the protests from his teammate.

"USE THE DAMN STAIRS YOU IDIOT!" She yelled after him even if it likely fell on deaf ears. Naruto gave her pitying smile as he could only imagine what it was like to be on a team with those two.

"Lee's pretty strong right? I wonder if that Gaara kid is going to be any trouble," Ino said shivering a little as she looked at him. "He kind of gives me the creeps."

"Gaara's going to be more than a little bit of trouble I think. Remember that time I had us take flight during the second exam? Well, it was because I wasn't exactly too keen on getting into a fight with him if we absolutely didn't have too." Naruto said remembering that night. Granted Naruto wasn't one to back down from any challenge, but when his teammates were involved he tended to operate on a more careful term of maneuvering. Not everyone was built to be a tank like him. _'Still, something feels a bit off about him…'_

" **It's the Shukaku."**

"The Shuka what?" Naruto said out loud getting everyone to stare over at him. "Sorry about that, thinking aloud a little bit, haha…"

' _No but seriously, what the hell is that?'_ Naruto thought to himself as Gaara had finally appeared on the opposite end of Lee.

" **Maybe it would make more sense to you if I said it like this; he's the Ichibi."**

' _Ichibi? Wait, so you're saying…'_

"Ohhhhh...oh crap baskets…" Naruto said aloud once again, though this time he was to focused on staring at Gaara to notice. _'So you're saying that he's like me then? And why the hell did you call it the Shukaku at first?'_

" **If you're referring to him containing one of us Biju then yes, he is. And the original name given to him is Shukaku, though you humans have made up your own ways of identifying me and my siblings as time has passed."**

' _Wait, so all of you guys are actually related? That's insane! So for future reference, what's your actual name?'_

" **I don't feel the need to give my name to any human, let alone one that annoys me as much as you do."** The kyuubi murmured getting Naruto to pout in response.

' _Come on, it must be tiring for you to hear me call you the Kyuubi all the time if it's not really your name. Just tell me already.'_

" **...Fine. If you absolutely must know, my given name is Kurama."**

' _Kurama huh? It kind of fits you, you know? So seeing as you said given, that means someone gave it to you right?'_

" **...That conversation would be far to lengthy for what I'm willing to get into now, and one I'm not entirely sure you're deserving of having."** Kurama replied, cutting off the connection as Naruto jumped a little in the real world. Looking down, he could see Darui was ready to start the match. Though he couldn't tell why, a slight feeling of dread swelled up inside of him as the man held up his hand.

"Look's like the fun is finally about to begin with this one." Onoki said back with the Kage's as they observed Darui raise his hand as well. The only one who chose to respond to his statement was the Kazekage, speaking the first word's he had uttered since the matches had started with hidden grin.

"You're mistaken Onoki-san, the real fun started a long time ago."

* * *

 **To keep this chapter from going on for way too long, I'm going to stop it right here. No spoilers, but were at a very important part in the story so I don't want to rush things and cram them into one huge chapter. It'll probably be easier for you guys to digest anyways, who doesn't want a well played out Gaara and Rock Lee fight?**


	17. Blindsided

**Chapter 17: Blindsided**

* * *

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

Deep in the crevices of an underground cave, a masked man tapped his finger along to the sound of falling water as he patiently awaited for something or someone. His finger froze mid motion, as a figure slowly began to emerge from the center of the floor. Without missing a beat, he continued on tapping his finger to the rhythm as the plant like person fully emerged in front of him. "Zetsu-san, I take it things are finally being set in motion?"

"Well if you want to be _technical,_ things started off a while ago. If you're talking solely about our role in this little elaborate plan then yes, I think it's time for us to start the preparations." The white half of Zetsu said as the masked man rose to his feet. Zetsu's eyes followed him as he began to make his way to the cave's exit, the black half speaking up just as he reached the opening.

" **While it's a little late to be asking this question, are you sure you're one hundred percent behind participating in this little operation? I still don't see what exactly we gain from this, if anything it looks as though this will help our** _ **enemy**_ **more so than us."**

"Rest assured we will serve to benefit from this action, whether it be now or in the future. _He_ in particular is no factor in this equation, as he can be dealt with at anytime if need be. I still have uses of him however, so he will continue to move of his own accord as long as he doesn't become too disruptive." The masked man replied coolly staring out into the morning sky.

" _Pein-sama_ isn't going to be too happy about this, you know he was looking forward to these exams." White Zetsu chided childishly hoping to get a reaction out of the mostly stoic man. He was disappointed however when the masked shinobi simply vanished from view, leaving the two singular beings alone in the cave. "I swear, you guys are no fun…"

Black Zetsu made no comment as the two began to sink back into the floor they came from. They had their part to do in this as well, and he'd be damned if they didn't gain at least something for all the trouble they had been put through.

 **(Kumogakure)**

"Lee's fast." Naruto said watching the arena with wide eyes. " _Really_ fast. Like if I had to put a number on it fast, it would be like, something in the-"

"Will you shut the hell up already Whisker's! Jeez, you haven't stopped talking since the match started." Ino said irritably stating the words that were currently on the minds of everyone present. It wasn't as though him speaking was distracting them from anything, as while the fight had just started it had for the most part been uneventful.

As soon as Darui's hand came down, Lee was on the move. He tried to sweep in quick and attack an unsuspecting Gaara with an attack from the front, but was surprised when a wall of sand appeared in front of him and stopped the attack. Not letting that get his spirits down, he quickly circled around back to follow it up with a kick that he knew Gaara wouldn't be able to dodge seeing as he hadn't even turned around to face him yet. Only, that attack was met with a wall of sand as well.

And thus we had the match so far, Lee running around blindly trying to find any opening he could while Gaara simply stood in the same spot he had since the fight began, following the green clad boy as best as he could with his eyes. And while it was entertaining at first, the novelty had quickly worn off.

"Hey Lee! I don't think it's working out bud, how about you try something else!" Kiba yelled from the stands as Lee finally stopped attacking to catch his breath. Kiba figured his words must have reached him, as Lee stood up from his kneeling position but made no move to attack as he stared across at Gaara, who had finally made his first movement of the day by unfolding his arms.

"You're annoying," He said holding up his hand as the sand from his gourd began to pour out and swirl around him. Everyone in the stadium watched in awe and the sand's movement began to pick and spur in multiple directions, as if it had a mind of its own. Slowly Gaara aimed his hand towards where Lee was standing, narrowing his eyes as he fist closed slightly into a claw.

"Die."

In the blink of an eye, the surplex of sand rushed into a single stream that was headed straight for a bug eyed Rock Lee, who didn't have to be told what his next plan of action should be.

Run.

And so he did, circling the ring as Gaara's sand followed him relentlessly, crashing through boulders and whatever else had the displeasure of getting in its way. The crowd cheered excitedly as Lee continued to run for his dear life, not seeing any other option at that point.

"That son of your's is a monster, how is he able to control that sand the way he does?" Onoki asked not at all hiding his favorable view of the kid in question. Hiruzen and A nodded in agreement of the assessment of his talents. The Kazekage didn't answer right away, instead letting the question hang in the air for a moment before answering in a low voice.

"It is… a gift. That would be the best way to describe it." He said, falling silent again as they returned their attention back to the match.

"That sand's way to troublesome, and seeing as Lee's a taijutsu specialist solely and needs to get in close to do any damage, he's at a disadvantage here. Though honestly I doubt there's anyone who would have an advantage going up against this guy." Shikamaru said as they continued to watch him run from the sand that was quickly gaining on him.

"So basically you're saying he's fucked?" Ino asked worriedly.

"Well if he could find a way to out maneuver the sand's defense he could possibly make things work," Naruto added grabbing his chin in thought. "He'd have to be fast enough to get around it though, which I don't think-"

"Hey look, he's doing it!"

Suppressing his irritation at being interrupted by Kiba, Naruto looked down to see that Lee had not only managed to close the gap between him and Gaara, but had actually managed to get in close to where he was standing. A wisp of sand made it's way over to intercept him, but because most of it was inside of the attack chasing Lee, he was able to easily avoid it and found himself right on top of a wide eye'd Gaara.

"Yosh!" He yelled with a fire burning in his eyes as he brought his foot straight down onto the redhead's face, following it up with a second strike that propelled him away. Landing on the ground, Lee watched as Gaara was caught in the air by the sand that was previously chasing him, bringing him down to the ground softly as he clenched at the area of his face that he was struck at.

"That's what I'm talking about Lee, kick his ass!" Tenten yelled from the stands proudly as Lee got into his signature stance. On the other end of the viewing box, Temari was clenching onto the railing as she watched the fight in disbelief, her hands trembling to show her discomfort at what she was seeing.

"G-Gaara was struck? How?" She said as her younger brother shook his head to show his shock at the situation as well. Back in the arena, Gaara was still holding onto his face as Lee waited patiently for his next move. He was just beginning to grow restless when Gaara's hand slowly began to fall.

"You…" He mumbled lowly as his hand fully came off of his face, showing that it was cracked as pieces of what appeared to be hardened sand fell of from it. "I'm going to kill you..."

Without warning, bullets of sand began to shoot out from the ground in Lee's direction, who barely had time to react as he tried to dodge the incoming projectiles as best as he could. From the corner of his eye he noticed a stray cloud of sand making its way towards him, and he just barely managed to move out of the way as it struck out at him. This movement forced him to take his focus away from the sand bullets however, which he paid for dearly as five struck him consecutively in the chest with the last one knocking him on his back.

Grunting in pain, he didn't have much time to react as when he looked up into the sky, his vision was blocked by four tail like structures of sand which were coming down upon him. Yelpng, he quickly rolled out of the way as the first two crashed down onto where he was standing, kicking himself up into a series of flips to dodge the second two as they struck down as well. Sliding to a stop, he stared over to where Gaara was standing, his sand moving ominously at his feet.

"I can see now that I won't be able to defeat you as I currently am," Lee said aloud, reaching down to grab at the orange straps around his ankles. "Forgive me Gai-sensei, but I must go all out to match the strength of my current adversary!"

"No need for forgiveness! Go on Lee, and show everyone how bright your flames of youth burn!" Gai replied standing up in the stands, getting the other Konoha representatives to sink lower into their seats. Well, besides Kakashi, who simply turned to the next page in the book he was reading.

"What is he doing...are those...weights?" Naruto asked as Lee stood up holding a set of ankle weights in each hand. "You mean this fucker can get even faster?!"

"Language Whisker's!" Ino yelled, slapping him on the head as she continued to watch the field intensely like everyone else. Everyone in the arena seemed to hold their breath as they awaited what his next move was going to be. Taking a deep breath, Lee eyes shot open as he quickly jumped into the air, holding the weights outward from his body as he began to spin rapidly. Gaara followed him uneasily, his sand waiting to react to whatever the boy had up his sleeve. Suddenly, a gray blur shot out from where Lee was spinning, invisible to pretty much everyone watching, even Gaara himself. In fact, the only reason anyone knew anything had happened was because a large explosion of land occurred right behind where Gaara was standing.

Before he could even turn around to react to it, he was sent flying into the other end of the arena, almost as if he was struck by an invisible attack. He crashed into the wall of the stadium, the impact causing a huge crater as his sand rushed over, far too late to protect him. While the crowd was enjoying what had just taken place immensely, everyone else was at a loss for words at what had just transpired.

"What the fuck was that?!" Naruto and Kiba said simultaneously as they watched Lee float back down to the ground, spinning like a majestic flower. No one had an answer for them as they all stared at the fight with similar looks of confusing on their face. That was until the sound of Sasuke slamming his fist on the railing caught their attention as he gritted his teeth while watching Lee land. "The hell is wrong with you Sasuke?"

"None of you could see what just happened, but I was able too," He said pointing to his now active sharingan that was scanning the arena. "Those weight's Lee just took off? That's what caused the mini explosion's we all just witnessed. He threw them towards Gaara as an attack."

"Holy hell, how much do those damn things weigh?" Naruto asked looking over at Tenten, even more impressed now than he was before. The bun haired girl shrugged her shoulders at his question as she looked down at Lee.

"The training that Lee and Gai-sensei do is on a totally different level then what I've seen from anyone in terms of physical fitness. I could barely make it through their morning routines without completely wiping myself out, so honestly this isn't to big of a surprise for me. They're freaks of nature." She replied as Naruto eyed her curiously. Nodding to himself, he turned back to watch the rest of the fight.

' _I'm gonna' get in on some of that training.'_

" **Are you going to start wearing green spandex as well?"**

' _Bite me...on second thought nevermind.'_

"Look's like Gaara's not down for the count just yet." Shikamaru said as the others looked over to where he had landed. Appearing from out of the smoke cloud, Gaara stammered out into the open with blood noticeably leaking from a wound a top of his head. Though his face was mostly hidden as he kept his head facing the ground, the amount of killer intent he was leaking was enough for anyone to know he wasn't exactly happy at the moment. Whatever 'happiness' was for him anyway.

Lee didn't let it deter him in anyway though, as he quickly disappeared in another burst of speed from where he was standing. Those who could follow his movements tracked him over to Gaara's position, where a punch aimed for his face was just barely knocked off course by his sand's protection. Disappearing again, Lee was now behind him aiming a kick in his direction that was once again just barely blocked. This continued on as Lee moved at inhuman speeds, disappearing and reappearing as he launched a barrage of attacks at Gaara that were all kept at bay. Grunting, Lee used the sand to kick himself away after one final attack to put some distance between the two, landing a couple feet away.

"The fact that that Gaara kid can keep up with Lee's movements and react in time to block his attacks with the sand is amazing," Asuma murmured watching the fight closely. "It's almost as if the sand has a mind of it's own."

"Hm, well you might not be too far off the mark with that assumption." Kakashi replied getting the others too look over at him as he pulled his headband back down over his sharingan eye.

"What do you mean by that?" Asuma asked as Kakashi folded his arms over his chest.

"Well…"

"His chakra, it's different." Sasuke remarked squinting down at him. "Not only inside of him, but especially inside of the sand that he's controlling. It's almost as if there's two different signatures."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba asked scratching his head confusedly. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

"He's right," Neji replied, scaring everyone as he suddenly appeared next to the group after spending most of his time in the back after the fight. "I'm looking at two different chakra systems flowing through his body right now, and the second one is much more prevalent in the sand than in his body. Not only that…" He continued glancing over at Naruto, who picked up on the stare.

"What is it?" Sakura asked as he left that ending up in the air. Neji stared at Naruto for a little longer before turning off his Byakugan and closing his eyes as he turned to face forward again.

"Nothing, it was just my imagination I suppose." He said shutting down any further conversation to be had about the moment. Naruto's eyes lingered on him for a little longer before he turned back to the fight, going inside of his mind for a little chat.

' _They're talking about the Shukaku aren't they? It's his chakra that they're sensing?'_

" **More than likely, unlike your seal whoever did that boy's must've either been a real amateur or in a huge rush. The Shukaku's chakra is wreaking havoc on his system, it's one of the reasons why I was able to detect it was him so easily."** Kurama said, scratching at his ear inside of Naruto's head. **"And seeing how things are about to go, I doubt I'll be the only one who's able to pick up on his status."**

' _What do you mean by that?'_ Naruto asked before his question was somewhat answered by the feeling of the air in the stadium getting heavier. Looking down, he could see that Gaara was now sitting in a meditative pose, his eyes closed as his body slowly lifted off from the ground with the help of his sand. The particles began to spin rapidly around him, taking the loose form of a sphere as it slowly began to become more and more solid. "Well that doesn't look good at all..."

Lee was having similar thoughts as he jumped from one foot to another, trying to figure out his next course of action. He was about to look up to Gai for answers when he remembered where he was, and turned back to face the dome with a determined look.

' _No, this isn't Gai-sensei's fight! I must think of way to handle this problem on my own or I would be undeserving of any promotion that would come my way!'_ The eye browed fighter thought to himself as Gaara's spear was all but complete now. Deciding to test his luck, Lee sprinted forward and shot a punch directly into the sphere, with the sand exploding out from the area that he hit as it appeared as though he had broke through. The sand however came circling back in, almost wrapping around his arm and trapping him if he hadn't moved back in time to escape it.

Landing, he wasted no time in going back on the offensive, disappearing and reappearing behind the sphere as he attempted to throw another punch towards it. The keyword there was attempted however as before he could fully strike the structure, he was forced to quickly draw back as a number of sand spikes shot out from within it. Sliding backwards, his hissed as he held on to his now bleeding hand, not being able to dodge it complete as one of the spikes had managed to pierce through.

"What the hell is he supposed to do against that thing if he can't even get near it?" Kiba asked pointing down at the giant sand dome irritably. The sound of scoffing caught his attention as he looked over to see Temari looking over at him.

"That's exactly it; there's nothing that he _can_ do against it. This is Gaara's ultimate defense, nothing would be able to penetrate that dome." Temari said looking back down at it. "And we haven't even gotten to the worst part of things yet..."

"And what exactly would that be?" Shikamaru asked raising an eyebrow at her. She simply shrugged her shoulders while giving him a small glance over.

"If eyebrow's down there doesn't find a way to get Gaara out of that sphere, you'll be finding out soon enough."

Circling around the floating sructure, Lee was at a loss of words in terms of what he could do next. It appeared as though nothing he tried worked, and now he wasn't even able to get close to it without the sand spears shooting out. He was preparing to try and get in close once again when he noticed that, slowly, the sand was starting to fall from the sphere and out onto the ground.

As more and more of the sand fell, Gaara's form began to become visible again, though he was noticeably different than before. Everyone in the participant's booth eyes grew wide as they took notice of his new form. Everyone besides Naruto, who simply narrowed his eyes as he didn't even need Kurama to confirm his thoughts for him.

' _This must be his biju state.'_ Naruto thought to himself observing the changes that had taken place. Gaara himself was mostly the same, except for one noticeable change on his right arm. It was completely covered in what appeared to be a giant, clawed arm that hung loosely at his side as Gaara stood hunched over, breathing heavy. He slowly rose his head to stare over at Lee before the smallest of smiles appeared on his face.

"Now...now you will die…"

With that said, Gaara sprinted over to where Lee was standing, who stayed in place as he awaited the attack coming his way. Two clouds of sand appeared on either side of him, which he jumped into the air to avoid. Or at least he tried to as Gaara, with new found speed, had surprisingly caught up to where he was and reached out to grab him with his transformed arm. Gripping him by the leg, he swung the boy in a circle before slamming him back down onto the ground, electing a scream of pain from him as Gaara's sand arm slowly retracted back towards him, bringing Lee with him. It appeared that he was prepping for another attack when suddenly, Lee spun his way free from the sand claw's grip with the use of his legs, flipping into the air and putting some distance between them.

Sliding to a stop, the air around him seemed to distort as just as quickly as he landed, he was on the move again. Appearing in front of Gaara, he launched a kick upwards into his chin that launched him into the air before jumping up to follow after him. Appearing behind him, he used the bandages around his arms to wrap around the boy's torso before tightening its grip, effectively locking him in place. Turning them around in the air so they were upside down, Lee began to spin the two rapidly as they began to descent towards the ground, fast.

"This move, it's the Front Lotus isn't it Guy?" Kakashi asked staring over at the man. "Lee shouldn't be able to use this technique unless he had access to the Eight Gates...don't tell me you did something so reckless as-"

"I simply taught my student what he needed in order to compete with the best of his peers," Gai said, cutting him off in a rare serious voice watching as Lee performed the technique. "His will of fire burns strong, and if anyone can contain and utilize that technique's power properly, it would be him. I have that much faith in his abilities."

No other discussion could be had as the two finally collided with the ground, a large cloud of smoke and debris launching into the air as the impact rocked the stadium. Covering his eyes to protect them from the flying grovel, Naruto tried to peer down into the smoke cloud to see what was going on. As things were beginning to calm down, he could see that while Lee had managed to complete whatever attack he had tried, it was negated as Gaara was able to break his transformed arm free at the last moment and hold it out to block the fall. The arm held the two in the air inside of the crater as Lee's bandages slowly fell from around Gaara's side and the green spandex clad boy jumped out from the crater.

Landing and falling down to his knee, Lee panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath from all of the energy he exerted to perform that technique. He was forced to retreat further back as a wall of sand came from within the crater and crashed down upon where he was standing, with Gaara following it not long afterwards. Not only that, but the sand that was previously only covering his arm had now spread to his right leg as well. Standing up, Lee took a deep breath as he clenched his fist at his side.

"I was hoping to save this for you Neji-san, but it appears I longer have no choice. None of my attacks appear to be fazing you…" Lee relented giving Gaara a hard stare. "Let's see how you handle this!"

Hunching over, Lee began to yell ferociously as once again the air around him seemed to distort and change from the amount of chakra leaking out from his body. His presence was even starting to overshadow that held by Gaara's form, which was not an easy feat by any means. Up in the booth, the Kage's were not lost on what was happening inside the arena.

"That brat is definitely a Jinchuuriki," Onoki said playing with one of his time space cubes absent mindedly. A grunted as he glanced over at the Kazekage, who didn't seemed bothered at all by his Jinchuuriki showing his true colors in the middle of the exams.

"You'd better be prepared to deal with your _problem_ if get's too out of hand. If you don't, then best believe we will." A said not hiding his displeasure of another Jinchuuriki going rampant in his own village. The Kazekage chuckled eerily as he crossed his fingers over his face.

"Trust me Raikage-sama, you have nothing to worry about. I have measures to take care of my son if he grows too out of control." He replied as Lee's yell became more prominent throughout the ring. "I believe something of equal interest is happening in the arena right now as well."

"What the hell is going on with Lee," Naruto asked squinting down at him. "Is...is his skin turning red? Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this right now?"

"I've never seen this technique before, Lee's never done this during training or out on a mission." Tenten said in a similar state of disbelief. "The amount of power he's emitting, it's incredible!"

The reaction of the crowd was similar, except for those in Konoha's section who were currently witnessing something they had rarely seen. A seemingly upset Kakashi.

"You seriously went out and taught him something as dangerous as being able to open up the gates as far as level three?" Kakashi asked as Gai simply continued to watch his student. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi settled downed as Lee power up seemingly began to halt. "How far can Lee go Gai?" After staying silent for a moment, Gai's answer did nothing to calm Kakashi's nerves.

"At his current level, he can reach the Fifth Gate."

"Is it really that dangerous?" Kurenai asked grabbing on to Asuma's arm. Pulling out a cigarette, Asuma sparked it up much to her chagrin before answering.

"The gate's are a double edged sword, the power they give is almost unmatched, but it comes at a great cost. Right now that kid is literally in the process of tearing his body apart, and the sad part is, with his opponent in mind, it still might not be enough."

Watching him intently, a maniacal smile slowly began to spread across Gaara's face as he began to laugh in short fits. "Yes, that's it! Struggle for your life! Make me feel alive! My mother screams for your blood!"

Looking up, Lee narrowed his eyes before disappearing from where he was standing, the ground beneath him erupting in response to the speed of which he traveled. Gaara was knocked in the air before he even registered Lee had moved, and the process continued as Lee began to knock Gaara around as if he was a ball in a ping pong machine. To those watching, it simply appeared as though Gaara was being thrown back and forth by an invisible force. In fact, the only reason it was even clear Lee was still in the ring was that his voice could be heard ringing throughout.

"Gate of Pain…open!"

Slowly, while still being knocked around by Lee, the sand appendage that had been that had covered Gaara's right side had moved over to cover some of his face and torso as his right iris turned golden. Appearing on top of the floating Gaara, Lee simultaneously struck out with his fist and leg, hitting him with two powerhouse attacks that sent him crashing towards the ground. **"Reverse Lotus!"**

Gaara crashed hard into the ground, the impact sinking in the area around him as he bounced back into the air. Lee wasn't finished however, as he was right back upon him, attacking with a series of roundhouse kicks that didn't give Gaara any time to recuperate. He finished the barrage off with a haymaker to the boy's head, sending him crashing to the other end of the stadium as some of his sand armour fell off and trailed behind him.

Staring over at where Gaara landed, Lee tried to walk forward but found that his body wouldn't respond to his commands, and that he was frozen in place. Grunting, he slowly brought his fist up and hunched over again as the wind around him began to pick up. "Not yet, not yet, just a little more…"

The air around him began to distort once again as veins began to bulge out from his skin. The green hue surrounding him became stronger as a final shockwave shot out throughout the arena. "Gate of Limit...open!"

"Lee...Lee is a monster." Naruto said seriously as Shikamaru looked over at him. "I...I honestly don't know if I could stand against what he's throwing around out there. Actually no, I don't even have to wonder. I couldn't."

"Naruto admitting there's something he couldn't go against," Shikamaru mumbled, "We might be close to the end times after all."

"So like, does anybody want to talk about the fact that Gaara barely even looks human anymore?" Ino asked as she was finally able to get a good look at him. "I mean, what even _is_ that?"

"This is getting out of hand fast," Naruto said staring up at the Kage's booth anxiously. "What the hell does it take for a match to be considered going too far?"

Gaara meanwhile had finally stumbled out from the crater in the wall he had created, the tail of sand swishing behind him as he tried to find the whereabouts of Lee. He didn't have to search though, as Lee appeared right in front of him, seemingly floating from the ground as the pressure his body was giving off levitated him from the ground.

Gaara's tail struck out to the area that Lee was standing, only for it to crash into the ground without coming into contact with anything as Lee quickly slid to the side. Grabbing his tail, Lee lifted Gaara up into the air, before completely launching him upwards into the sky with an uppercut. Crouching down, he jumped after him, quickly surpassing his ascent with the speed of which he was moving and appearing on top of Gaara's position. With one finally roar, Lee slammed into Gaara's head with a knee so powerful that it sounded as if a miniature bomb went off above the stadium.

The entire arena seemed to implode inside itself as Gaara collided with the ground, shaking even the area that the spectators were watching in as everything began to sink in the hole that was made in the middle. After a few moments, the rubble completely filled the crater as the shaking stopped and everything appeared to return to normal. Lee landed on the ground, at first on his own two feet before his legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed to his knees. Panting heavily, he looked up with one eye to see that Gaara had yet to resurface from the aftermath of the attack. His breathing hitched as he realized that it was quite possible he had ended up actually killing the boy, as he doubted anyone could survive being buried under so much rumble.

Darui was following a similar line of thought as he prepared to leap down and attempt to find any sign of Gaara being alive. He was interrupted however by the sound of rumbling once again, this time coming from beneath the stadium. Lee, barely able to keep himself awake from the amount of exhaustion he was feeling, stared at the crater in shock as Gaara's arm of sand shot out from beneath the rubble, slowly pulling him out. Fully emerged and hunched over, from the way his body was shaking the common assumption was that it was likely due to the pain he was feeling from all the damage he had taken. This was disproven however when the sound of laughter began to leak out from the boy, at first low but soon turning into a full blown maniacal cackle as he stared up at the sky.

"Yes! I have never felt more alive than I do now! You," Gaara said turning to look at Lee with a wide smile as blood poured down his face from a cut on his forehead. "Your blood is a must have for my mother! Killing you will certify my existence!"

Lee grunted as he tried to stand, only to yelp out in pain as even the slightest movement gave light to the fact that not only his muscles, but entire skeletal frame was damaged. This wasn't lost on Gaara, who in the blink of an eye reached out with his stretched sand arm and grabbed Lee by his leg's. Darui cursed as he went to intervene but found it was too late as with a final grin, Gaara squeezed his hand in a fist as Lee's eyes widened. For a moment all was silent, as if it took a moment for Lee to register the pain he was in. That silence was broken quickly however, as soon a blood curdling scream escaped his mouth as it became very clear that his leg's had just been crushed.

Dropping down into the stadium, Darui glared over at Gaara as he held his hand up to signal the match was done. "The match is over, cease all fighting now or face elimination!" Gaara, seemingly ignoring his words, only smiled deeper as his grip on Lee's leg seemed to tighten, eliciting another scream from the boy. Darui was preparing to step forward when the Kazekage suddenly appeared in front of him, staring down Gaara with his arms folded over his chest.

Gaara's eyes meet his as the two seemingly held a voiceless conversation with each other. The smile on Gaara's face slowly fell, his stare becoming cold again as if matching the same stare that his 'father' was giving him. Slowly, his arm retracted away from Lee, who fell to the ground as paramedics quickly maneuvered through the field to grab him. Gaara's sand slowly retracted from his face, before leaving his body completely as he returned back to his normal state, although noticeable more bloody and beat up. Still without a word, he turned and walked away from where the Kazekage was standing, who watched him until he was out of sight in the competitor. Unfolding his arms, he shunshin backed up to the Kage's booth, sitting down slowly and not making any remark over what had happened. The other's didn't as well, simply looking down into the stadium as Darui held a hand up to get everyone's attention.

"Um, we'll be taking a short intermission to have the arena repaired. All participating contestants are to stay within the waiting area until the matches proceed." He said before turning to head into the medical bay. As the crowd begrudgingly left out to take a small break, Naruto and co were still recovering from what had just transpired in the field below.

"That's bullshit! I should be able to go see my injured teammate if I damn well please!" Tenten yelled. Neji on the other hand was leaning up against the wall with his eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned at all with the situation.

"I'm sure Gai-sensei has already made his way over to check in on him, you going down there would do nothing but distract you from your upcoming match." Neji replied calmly as Tenten looked over at him. While she wasn't particular fond of the person who said it, Ino agreed with his sentiments as she put her hand on her shoulder.

"He's right you know, there wouldn't be anything you could do for him. I'm sure Lee wouldn't want you worrying about him anyways, and the medical staff will be able to help him." Ino said reassuringly. Tenten's mouth hung open as she looked between the two, almost as if she wanted to protest still but eventually gave in with a sigh, mumbling a quick 'you're right' before sitting down against the wall with her other teammate. While watching the ordeal, Naruto had managed to sneak over to where Fuu was waiting, sitting on top of the rail while kicking her feet over the edge. Leaning up against it, he looked to make sure no one was watching them before leaning in to talk to her.

"So hey, all that stuff that Gaara was doing down there, can you do that too?" He asked as the girl looked over at him. "Or something similar I guess?"

"If you're asking whether or not I can utilize the Nanabi's power, then yes I can." She said looking back out at the shinobi who were currently finishing up the field. "Our styles of doing so are much different though. It seemed more like his biju was in control than him."

"Yeah, Kurama was telling me earlier about how Gaara's seal is pretty screwy, so that probably has something to do with it." Naruto said nodding to himself. Looking up, he could see Fuu was giving him a weird look, which caused him to squirm a little as it didn't stop when he took notice of it. "Um, is there something on my face?"

"Who is Kurama?" Fuu asked cocking her head to the side. This time it was Naruto's turn to stare at her weirdly, before he realized he was likely the only person who knew the Kyuubi's real name.

"Oh, nevermind that detail, I meant to say Kyuubi." He replied laughing nervously, scratching the back of his head. Fuu cocked her head to the side even further before shrugging her shoulders and turning back forward.

"You're a weird person, Uzumaki-san."

"Oi, you're not really one to talk. And call me Naruto, 'Uzumaki-san' makes me sound like some old geezer." Naruto said brushing her comment off childishly. The sound of a throat clearing caught their attention as Naruto jumped off the rail and turned behind him to see Aito standing besides him, also looking out over the field.

"It appears as though they are ready to resume the matches." Aito said, Fuu nodding in agreement as she watched the kumo shinobi leave off the field. Figuring he should get back to the others, Naruto bid the two a farewell before heading off. Aito watching him leave before turning back to Fuu, whose eyes still hadn't left off the field. "Do you have an interest in him Fuu-san?"

Fuu spared the overly serious boy a glance before kicking her feet out in a stretching motion. Relaxing again, she stifled a yawn before answering in a drawn out voice. "None at all. Maybe a little. Still need to see more." Nodding to himself, Aito turned back to the arena as Darui began to speak again.

"Alright, we're ready to proceed with the rest of the matches. Will Kentaru and Akatsuchi come down please!"

' _Those guys are from Takigakure and Kirigakure right? Haven't had much interaction with those two villages.'_ Naruto thought to himself, looking over to where the Takigakure team was. Catching eyes with one of the team's member, a girl with short black hair and who looked to be around the same age as him, he took notice of the small glare she sent his way before returning her attention to her teammate. Lingering on it for a moment, Naruto brushed it off eventually as he leaned up against the railing to watch the fight.

He found it to be a pretty boring match overall, especially coming off the powerhouse slam that was Gaara and Lee's fight. Akatsuchi, while rather large in terms of appearance, was easily able to out maneuver the Kiri shinobi, which coupled with his impressive strength resulted in a pretty short fight as one direct punch to the head was all it took for the match to be over. He wasn't one to complain however as the sooner these matches were over, the sooner he could get back out there. His interest was perked up again however as he saw Samui and Sakura head down into the stadium to fight next. Feeling an elbow bump against his arm, he looked over to see Shikamaru leaning on the railing next to him.

"You and that Samui girl talked a lot right? Any idea how strong she is?" He asked as Naruto shook his head negative.

"I've never actually seen her fight, so I wouldn't know. This'll be my first time experiencing it as well. What about Sakura, how good has she gotten since we've become genin?" Naruto asked looking over at Kiba. Staring at them back, Kiba shrugged his shoulders as he looked back out into the arena.

"Hell if I know, I spent most of time trying to block her existence out if you catch my drift. 'Sasuke-kun' this and 'Sasuke-kun' that. Her ability to get the fuck on my nerves sure got better. No offense to you of course, buddy." Kiba said slinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, who stared at it for a moment before sliding it right back off.

"Well, guess we'll be learning a lot this much huh?" Naruto said noting that Darui had jumped away, signaling the match had started. Both shinobi jumping backwards, Sakura pulled out a kunai while falling into a small offensive stance. Samui simply fingered the tanto behind her back absentmindedly, her eyes never leaving Sakura as the two stared each other down.

This went on for awhile as neither girl seemed to want to make the first move, and the arena was beginning to grow a little restless. Closing her eyes, Sakura took a deep breath before opening them sharply, charging forward with her kunai held in front of her with a loud yell. Narrowing her eyes, Samui fingered the tanto behind her back a little longer before gripping it completely, swiftly pulling it out and parrying the kunai that Sakura struck out with away. Sweeping forward, she thrusted the tanto into the girl's stomach. She gasped in shock however when as soon as she made contact, Sakura bursted into a pattern of sakura petals that flowed into the wind behind her. Narrowing her eyes, Samui quickly spun around and thrusted her tanto into the mini tornado of petals forming behind her, but once again as soon as she made contact the petals began to disperse once again.

Grunting in annoyance, she jumped backwards to create some distance only for the petals to completely surround her. Swirling around her, they appeared to double in numbers as now Samui's entire vision was filled with them. Looking around, she clicked her tongue before stopping her movement altogether. Putting both hands on her tanto, she took a deep breath before stabbing it straight into the ground below her. **"Lightning Release: Spider Web!"**

From her position, a web like series of lightning shot out from where she was kneeling. The sound of yelling caused her to open her eyes as she saw now that the petals had disappeared and her vision had cleared. Turning around to source of the voice, she came face to face with a paralyzed Sakura, who was in the process of attempting to attack her with a poisoned kunai. Not wasting anytime, Samui grabbed her by the wrist and twisted it, causing her to drop the kunai while her legs were kicked out from under beneath her at the sametime. Slamming her to the ground and restricting her movements, Samui placed the tanto up against her neck, her icy gaze sending a shiver down Sakura's back. "Surrender."

Struggling under her grip, Sakura realized it was pointless as Samui began to dig the blade into throat slightly, causing the smallest amount of blood to appear. "Alright, alright! I surrender!" Quickly, Samui released her grip over the girl and flipped her tanto back into its sheath. Looking at Darui to make sure the outcome was decided, she silently turned and made her way to the tunnel while Darui announced the results.

"Sakura Haruno has surrendered the match, Samui will move on to the next round!"

"Poor Sakura-chan…" Naruto mumbled watching the dejected girl make her way back up. He nudged Ino in the arm to get her attention. "Hey, how about you try to cheer her up with that charm of yours?" The girl snorted in response, looking away haughtily as Naruto sweatdropped at her response. The pinkette had finally made her way back up to the others, walking over to where her team stood solemnly.

"Sorry guy's, looks like I wasn't able to do anything out there after all…" She mumbled looking down at the ground. She was fighting to hold back tears before the sound of an 'Hn' caused her to look back up.

"That girl was out of your league from the beginning, there was nothing you could do out there." Sasuke said causing the girl to cast her face back down to the ground. "Still, she's one of the strongest people here in this tournament from what I can tell. The fact that you managed to give her even a little bit of a problem shows you've gotten stronger."

Sakura looked back up at him, her eyes still holding tears as the boy tried his hardest to look uninterested. The sound of barking caused her to look down as she saw Akamaru at her feet, looking up at her excitedly as Kiba walked over as well.

"What the king of emotions here is trying to say is that you did well. Don't sweat it, this our first chunin exam right? It's not like this is the end of the world. Next time, just make sure you knock whatever competition you face out of the park." Kiba said with a feral grin. Sakura looked between the two, her face scrunching up slightly before she jumped and pull the two into a hug, with Sasuke nearly choking on his own spit at the sudden contact. Naruto watched the sight with animated tears trailing down his eyes as he hugged Shikamaru around the shoulder.

"You see that? That's true camaraderie right there! Why can't we have that?"

"Because you're an idiot, now get the hell off of me." Shikamaru said pushing him away. Clearing his face Naruto turned around just in time to see Fuu making her way down into the arena. Waiting until she had descended the stairs, Naruto took a deep breath before cupping his hands over his mouth "Knock em' dead Fuu!"

Stopping, Fuu looked back at the sudden exclamation of support from the boy, staring at him weirdly before turning around with a small blush on her face due to embarrassment. "Stop drawing unnecessary attention idiot."

"Damn brat, what about good ol' Kankuro huh? Anybody gonna' show him some support?" Kankuro mumbled looking up to his siblings. Temari caught his glance, and gave him a half assed thumbs up in return. Grumbling, he turned to face Fuu, who was staring back over at him passively. Looking between the two, Darui held his hand up before bringing it back down sharply.

"Begin!"

Grinning, Kankuro reached for the bandages behind his back before quickly unraveling them, revealing his puppet that begin to float in the air behind him. If this alerted Fuu in any way, then it definitely wasn't showing as the girl simply continued to stare at him passively. Smile widening, Kankuro's eyes narrowed as his ring finger twitched slightly, and the mouth of his puppet dropped open as it pointed in Fuu's direction.

"Don't worry, this'll be over quickly…" Kankuro mumbled before moving to manipulating his chakra strings some more. The puppet jerked upright before it began to shake ominously. Fuu's body tensed up as her face began to show some signs of interest of what he was doing before it took on a look of shock as she was forced to jump out of the way of a series of kunai coming her way. They were shooting of out from the mouth of Kankuro's puppet in a rapid manner, though in an incredible showing of agility Fuu was still managing to dodge all of them without moving far from her starting position.

It seemed one managed to break through her defense however as two final kunais shot out while Fuu was still recovering from dodging a former one. Believing he had finally gotten her, Kankuro was about to declare this match over when Fuu did something unexpected. Instead of attempting to dodge the two projectiles, she…

Punched them. Sharp edge first, straight down into the ground.

Not only was the fact that she didn't have two kunais embedded into her fists a shock, but that her hand wasn't even bleeding or showing any signs of damage was as well. Kankuro's mouth feel open as he watched her stand up right, looking over at him with that trademark passive stare of hers. Mouth still agape, his index finger twitched as he shot one last kunai at her, which once again instead of dodging she simply swatted it out of the way with her hand.

"What the fuck, how the hell are you not hurting from that?!" Kankuro yelled still in disbelief of what he was seeing. That's when another thought popped into his head as well. "Wait a minute, these kunais are coated with some seriously potent poison, just from coming in contact with it you should be on the ground foaming at the mouth right now. Seriously, what the hell is-"

Before he could finish, it appeared that Fuu had grown impatient as she made her first move of the match. Leaping forward in a surprising burst of speed, she was suddenly right in front of Kankuro, who swore as he maneuvered his puppet in front of him to protect himself from her attack. Reaching back, Fuu formed a fist before bringing it forward directly into the face of the puppet, completely obliterating it in one hit. Kankuro stared at her through the debris in disbelief as her icy eyes met with his.

Landing on the ground, Fuu cocked back her other hand before Kankuro could react and hit him square in the face much like she did the puppet before him. The boy was instantly rocketed off the ground and sent crashing into the opposite end of the stadium. Standing back up to her full height, Fuu squinted into the smoke cloud for a moment before closing her eyes and folding her arms over her chest. As the smoke cleared a clearly unconscious Kankuro was embedded into the wall, with Darui dropping down to make sure he was out of it. Nodding to himself, Darui held up his hand to show the match was over.

"Kankuro is unconscious, Fuu moves on to the next round!"

The crowd roared in response to the quick fight, showering Fuu with praise that caused her to look around nervously. Scratching at her cheek, she bowed awkwardly before quickly making her way back up to the competitors stand.

Up in the stands, Jiraiya watched her curiously before turning over to Tsunade, who was scratching another name off of her betting card. "That Fuu girl's fighting style is pretty similar to yours. Incredible strength and taking an opponent out with powerhouse hits, any chance she's a secret disciple of yours?"

"Please, unlike you I don't have the habit of taking in random children and teaching them what I know," Tsunade snorted looking down at the girl. "Besides, I get the feeling that there's something different about how she draws her strength than how I do…"

Finally making her way back up to the competitors end, Fuu was still scratching her face in embarrassment as she passed Naruto and the others.

"Completely different than from back home yeah?" Naruto remarked solemnly to her out loud as she passed by them. She spared him curious glance as she didn't know what he meant before realizing he was referring to the positive reaction of the crowd. Nodding, she continued back over to where Aito was waiting as Naruto watched her.

' _So Kurama, what's the deal with her? I'm taking it her ability to hit those kunais out of the air with no repercussion is a result of her biju?'_

" **God damn it you vermin, stop bothering me every time you have a question! Use that wasteland of a brain of yours and figure it out for yourself. What do I look like, a walking encyclopedia?"**

' _...Don't foxes trot?'_

" **...I will kill you."**

' _Sorry, won't bother you again I promise.'_ Naruto thought to himself as Ino took a deep breath next to him.

"Well, wish me luck guys." Ino said as she turned to head into the arena. Naruto grinned after her as he and Shikamaru both flashed her a thumbs up.

"You're going to do fine Ino-chan, don't sweat it!" Naruto said giving her some courage. Looking over at Shikamaru, he stared back at her silently before dropping his hand.

"What? Go break a leg." He replied waving her off. Squinting her eyes at him, Ino huffed before turning around with a flip of her hair. Watching her walk down into the stage, Naruto hummed to himself as he watched her walk into the field and stand across from Temari, getting Shikamaru to raise an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"Well seeing as I wasn't in Konoha, I don't really know how much stronger Ino-chan has gotten. How about you?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru rolled his neck in thought.

"Well, I did most of my training with my dad and since you were out with Jiraiya-sama, I remember Asuma-sensei saying he was going to devote all of the time he was going to use on us to training Ino solely. Since I was busy with my own though, I'm not entirely sure what that entailed." Shikamaru said shrugging his shoulders. "Guess we'll find out."

Down in the field, Darui looked between the two blondes before holding his hand up. "Are you two ready?" Taking note of both of their nods, he brought his hand down while moving out of the way. "Begin!"

Gripping the large fan at her side, Temari smirked over at Ino who was currently releasing a deep breath that she had taking in before the match started. "Nervous? I guess a wannabe Kunoichi would be when faced up against the real thing. You should save yourself the embarrassment and quit while you're ahead."

"Oh, so you're one of those types…" Ino said irritably. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly flicked a kunai in Temari's direction while jumping backwards. Temari blocked it with the end of her fan, being able to move it with surprising ease despite it's size. Looking around, she now saw that the singular Ino had been replaced with ten, who all stood in a circle around her.

"A basic clone jutsu? You really expect that to be effective against me? This is going to be easier than I thought…" Temari chided while opening her fan up slightly to reveal a single purple dot decoration. The ten Ino's charged forward as Temari lifted her fan up before swinging it in a circular motion, sending a current of wind out that dispelled the clones and lifted the real Ino up off of the ground and into the air. Not before she could put her plan into motion though, as she managed to throw out a small object that rolled underneath the current of wind and by Temari's feet. Looking down, she squinted at the small ball before cursing as it exploded, covering the area in a purple smoke.

"Using poison huh? You're going to have to do better than that to get me…"Temari said holding her sleeve up over her mouth and nose. Gripping her fan with one hand, she swung it upwards, creating a miniature tornado that began to clear out smoke. She was shocked again however when she felt a quick strike hit her wrist, causing her to lose her grip on the fan as Ino appeared next to her. With a yell the konoha kunoichi put her foot into Temari's side, kicking her away as she landed in front of her fan.

Righting herself in the air, Temari landed on the ground with a slide as she glared over at Ino. She noticed how she had positioned herself in front of her fan, no doubt trying to keep her from regaining possession of it. "You think keeping me away from my fan will help you? I can still beat you without it!"

Watching as she ran forward, Ino's body tensed as she took up a taijutsu stance. Dodging a kunai thrown in her direction, she sidestep a kicked before throwing forward a punch that Temari just barely managed to block. It managed to push her back however, surprising the girl as she didn't expect Ino to be this strong. She was steadily being pushed further and further back as Ino continued her onslaught of attacks, with a few managing to break through her defense and land. The agility and fluidity of her movements made it seem almost as if she was dancing, yet each strike was precise and meant to be powerful.

"Asuma-sensei couldn't have taught her this, he doesn't fight anything like that." Naruto said admiring the Taijutsu prowess being shown below him. Shikamaru nodded in agreement as he too was impressed by the skill his teammate was showing down below.

Managing to get another strike to connect in close, Ino smirked as she could tell she was easily getting the better of Temari currently. _'All of that training, it really paid off! I'll have to really thank Yugao-sensei later...and Asuma-sensei too I guess.'_ She thought, reminiscing back to how she was first introduced to Yugao.

 _(One Month Ago)_

" _I'm sorry, can you explain to me one more time where the hell we're going exactly?"_

" _I told you already, we're going to meet someone who I think can really help out with your training." Asuma said with a tired sigh._

" _I knew it! Now that Shikamaru and Naruto are off somewhere else, you're just gonna' throw poor ol' Ino out to the curve huh! Is that it Asuma-sensei?" Ino said folding her arms over her chest and turning her head away from him. "Honestly, I can't believe Kurenai-sensei could go out with a sexist man like you."_

" _I'm not putting you off damn it, I'm going to be helping you train too!" Asuma yelled back before calming down and grabbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, what you need help in the most is your taijutsu and stamina reserves, and while I can help you with the later good enough, we're built far too differently for you to benefit from my taijutsu style. That's why I'm taking you to someone who can help you out in that department."_

" _Well who is this person? And how do I know they're as capable as you say they are?" Ino asked skeptically as they made their way into an open clearing. Stopping, Asuma lit a cigarette as he took a quick look around._

" _She's late...anyways, this person is more than capable of overseeing your training. After all, she's an...well actually I can't tell you all of that but just know that she's certified. Look, here she comes now."_

 _Looking over, Ino caught sight of a women walking towards them. She had long, light purple hair tied up into a ponytail and was wearing gray sweats and a sweatshirt that fit her body loosely. All in all, she looked more like she should be at home sleeping than preparing someone for training as she walked into the area with half lided eyes and a slow pace._

" _This is Yugao Uzuki," Asuma said motioning over to her. Yugao stifled a yawn as she stared over at Ino with a tired expression. Ino bowed slightly as Yugao placed her hands on her hips, cracking her neck as she looked her over._

" _Sorry I'm late, I ended up sleeping a little later than I planned on," Yugao said with Asuma brushing her off. Neck stretching finished, she looked over at Ino passively with one hand still on her hip. "You must be Ino right? I owe Asuma-san here for helping me incorporating chakra manipulation into my kenjutsu in the past, so in return he asked me to help you with your taijutsu. So, why don't you come at real quick and we'll see what you've got so far."_

' _She doesn't look prepared for a fight at all. Actually, I'm getting the feeling that I'm being looked down on here. Well I'll show her…' Ino thought to herself as Asuma stepped to the side. Dropping into a fighting stance, she growled when she noticed that Yugao was still standing exactly as she was before, not even bothering to put up a defense._

 _Not taking kindly to being underestimated, Ino charged forward as she feigned a strike for her stomach. Mid motion, she stopped before jumping upwards and aiming a kick to her head. Yugao saw through all of it however, maneuvering backwards just enough to dodge her kick. Grabbing Ino by the arm, she flipped her in the air before slamming her back down on the ground, placing her forearm on the girl's neck as if to crush it._

" _Academy stance and predictable movements. Asuma-san was right, you do need a lot of help." Yugao remarked as Ino struggled underneath her. Releasing the girl, they both stood up to their full heights as Asuma came up to them._

" _So, when can you take her?"_

" _Early mornings," Yugao replied looking over at Ino. "You're to report here at this exact training ground at five A.M. sharp everyday from here on out. We should at least be able to get your taijutsu and stamina up to par in a month's time if we go full throttle from the beginning."_

" _F-f-five?! Every morning for a month?!" Ino yelled in disbelief as Asuma put his hand on her head._

" _That's great! This way, when you're done training in the morning with Yugao-san here, I can take you for the afternoon!" He said as Ino looked up at him with bug eyes. "Well, how's that for some attention?"_

' _Just kill me now please…'_

 _(Present time)_

"Damn it!" Temari yelled out as she was forced backwards by another kick from Ino. As much as she hated to admit it, Her adversary clearly had her beat when it came to taijutsu and if things kept going as they currently were, she would end up losing this fight. She needed to get back to her fan somehow, but that was easier said than done as Ino wasn't giving her any space to breathe. Still, getting beat on was getting old quickly so she decided it was time for a change.

Just as Ino was preparing to get in close again, Temari finished the hand seals she was performing before thrusting her hands in Ino's direction. **"Wind Release: Wind Sword!"**

A gust of wind was sent in Ino's direction, with small blades of wind moving throughout it. Ino slid to a stop as she was forced to dodge the blades of wind shooting out at her, which was much easier said than done. Still, she managed to narrowly dodge all of them as the final one took a couple of pieces of hair off of her bang, causing her to growl in response. Panting a little, she looked ahead to see that Temari was no longer in front of her. She didn't even have to wonder where the girl went, as she turned around to find her hefting her fan back up in her hand. Glaring at Ino, she opened it up two show the second purple dot as she wiped some left over blood off of her cheek.

"Let's see how you like this…" Temari said before swinging her fan in Ino's direction. A large gust of wind began to pick where the girl was standing, slowly lifting her up into the air as she put up her arms to try to block as much damage from the wind attack as she could. The current curved in the air before hurtling the girl back down onto the ground, slamming her hard as Ino let out a yell of pain. Slowly, she tried to get back up to her feet as Temari began to stride forward.

"I'm not done with you yet!" The girl yelled as she revealed the third and final purple marking on her fan. Gripping it with both hands, she swung the fan one final time Ino's way. She was lifted up off of the ground once again, but this time the wind was much more volatile than before. Ino could barely hold up her guard as cuts began to appear sporadically all over her body. Her form was completely obscured from view as the vicious winds built a visible wall around her.

"What an amazing wind technique, mine are nowhere near the level that hers are," Naruto asked, feeling bad for Ino but also admiring Temari's strength at the same time. "I wonder how Ino-chan's going to get out of this one…"

Slowly the technique began to dissipate as the winds died down. Naruto squinted as he tried to catch sight of Ino, eventually finding her as her body fell to the ground limply, kicking up a large cloud of smoke upon impact. Tching to himself, Naruto kicked the railing as he figured Ino was down for the count after that one. Shikamaru on the other hand had other thoughts on his mind as he stared at the cloud of smoke suspiciously. _'Even a fall from that high up shouldn't be able to produce that much smoke, something's up…'_

Looking into the cloud, Temari smirked as she placed the fan over her shoulder. The smoke began to clear as she could see Ino's motionless form laying on the ground. Closing her eyes, she closed her fan and embedded it into the ground, leaning up against it as she looked up towards Darui.

"Well, you can call the match now. I doubt she'll be getting back-" Temari started before suddenly a hand shot out from underneath the ground, grabbing her by her ankle and pulling her down below as Ino shot up in front of her at the same time. Buried neck deep, Temari looked up only to freeze as a kunai was pointed directly into her face, with Ino staring back down at her with a smirk.

"What was that about not being beating by a simple clone technique?" She said as Temari glared at the kunai. Putting the tip against her forehead, Ino brushed some hair out of her face as trickle of blood began to slid down Temari's face. "You'd do best to give up, this match is over."

"How the hell did you," Temari started angrily before settling down and letting out a sigh. "Fine, I give up alright? Now let me out of this."

Smiling, Ino put away her kunai before pulling the girl up from the ground. Darui appeared next to them, announcing the results of the match as Temari dusted herself off. "Temari has admitted defeat, meaning Ino Yamanaka will move on to the next round!"

"Hell yeah, let's go Ino-chan!" Naruto yelled as the crowd cheered her on. In the stands, Asuma was cheesing down happily as two of his students had managed to pass on to the next round. Honestly, he was really way too good at this whole sensei thing. It just wasn't fair.

"Look's like those earth techniques Asuma-sensei taught me will come in handy after all." Ino said with a tired sigh as she turned to make her way back up to the others. Now that the match was over and her adrenaline was coming down, she could feel the wounds she suffered from the match burning over her body and a wave of tiredness hit her hard. Before she could reach the stairs, a hand grabbed onto her shoulder and turned her around, bringing her face to face with a miffed looking Temari.

"We _will_ have a rematch one of these days, and next time I won't be underestimating you. Enjoy this victory while you can blondie." Temari stated before walking past her with a huff. Ino stared after her before blinking as she continued up the stairs.

"You know you're a blonde too right?"

Making it back up to the group, she hissed as Naruto pulled her up into a hug. "Hands off Whisker's, I'm in enough pain here!"

"You were awesome out there Ino-chan, I had no idea you had gotten so strong!" Naruto said excitedly. "If Shikamaru wasn't such a failure in life then all of us could have passed on to the second round!"

"I take offense to that, but not enough to argue against it." Shikamaru replied to the boy's slight dig on him. After all, was being a failure in life really that bad? No expectations and a life where doing even the littlest things would be seen as an accomplishment. That sounded like a life worth living to him.

"Well if you need me, I'll be over there sleeping the pain away...I mean resting." The girl said as she went to rest up against the wall. She was going to miss out on seeing what her next opponent was going to be like, but at that point she didn't really care. She was going to take a page out of her teammates book and get some well deserved rest.

It was times like this that she really envied the endless energy that Naruto seemed to posses.

 **(Back in Konoha)**

"I've never even heard Boss talk about you before! How the hell can you be his favorite pupil?"

"Simple, because Naruto-oniichan likes me better. And I'm stronger than you."

"Says who?!"

"Says the universe."

Hiashi sighed as he was beginning to regret the decision of allowing Hanabi to go down and sit with the other kids. It seemed as though the noise level within the room went up tenfold as the girl made contact with the Third's grandson. He was contemplating the idea of leaving Hinata behind to be in charge of her while he left when the sound of a distant explosion caught his attention as the academy began to shake.

"W-w-what is that?" Hinata asked as her and Hiashi stood up to her feet. Closing his eyes, Hiashi activated his Byakugan as he stared in the direction the sound of the explosion came from. Realizing it was coming from the front gate of the village, he could barely hold back a gasp at what he was seeing.

"Hinata! Take your sister and get her to safety, now! I will be sending guards from the compound to check in on you as soon as I can!" He yelled before quickly running out to exit the room. Hinata reached out after him, still confused by what was going on as the other kid's and Iruka looked up to her.

"Nee-san? What's going on?" Hanabi asked as Hinata activated her Byakugan as well. Her eyes widened as she brought her hand up to her face while gasping. Iruka stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Hinata, what do you see?" He asked as she continued to stare in the direction of the front gate. Swallowing a knot in her throat, she turned back to Iruka with fear evident in her eyes.

"T-there's shinobi, a l-lot of them, and they're coming in over the front gate!" She managed to get out as Iruka's face lit up in shock as well. A second explosion rocketed throughout the area as the academy was once again shaking. Growling, Iruka let go of Hinata as he ran towards the door, turning back around to address the kids.

"Listen closely, I want you all to follow every single word I say from here on out! No questions asked, now let's go! Hinata, follow us after every kid has made it out!"

"R-right!" Hinata yelled as the kids began to file out. Iruka was still moving on autopilot as he himself still couldn't believe what was happening. There was no mistaking it though, and it was happening at the worst possible time ever.

Someone was attacking the hidden leaf.

* * *

 **Mid way through writing this chapter, I suddenly got the idea of another story I might want to do in the future. It's just an idea though, nothing I'd actually put into context anytime soon since this story is my sole focus for now. Still though, it's a killer idea. Just need to flesh it out more…**

 **I have absolutely no idea why I'm telling you this. I'm gonna' go do something productive now.**


	18. Not Home Anymore

**Chapter 18: Not Home Anymore**

* * *

The chunin exams continued to roll on following Ino's victory as now Tenten was gearing up for her match. Clapping her cheeks twice, she took in a deep breath before turning back towards the others. "Well, wish me luck!"

After a resounding 'good luck!' from the more talkative members of their group, Tenten hopped up onto the railing before jumping down into the arena. Naruto's jaw dropped as he watched her, turning to Shikamaru who raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"Why didn't I think of doing that? That was awesome!" Naruto said turning forward with a grin. Shikamaru shook his head at the random nature of his teammate as the match was almost about to start. Tenten and Aito stood across from each other, one with a determined gleam in her eyes while the other's was more accurately described as a serine focused stare. Looking between the two, Darui held up his hand for a moment before bringing it down, signaling the match had started.

Tenten was immediately on the move, launching out five shurikens at once that cut off most of the exit paths Aito could have used to dodge. Not that he needed too however, as with a sweeping a motion he pulled a sword out from behind his back and deflected the shurikens that were an immediate threat to him out of the way. Turning it in his hand, he launched forward and took a series of consecutive swipes at Tenten, who managed to block them with a kunai before kicking him away to create some distance. Landing on the ground, Aito ran through a set of hand seals before bringing his hand up to his mouth.

" **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"** He yelled before spewing the large ball of fire in Tenten's direction. Her eyes grew in surprise as she wasn't expecting such a jutsu at all and barely had enough time to leap out of the way as it trailblazed through the area she was previously occupying.

"Hey Sasuke, look, it's your signature!" Naruto said grinning over at the Uchiha. He grunted in response, not really paying the blonde any attention as he instead chose to focus on the match below him. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Aito's use of that jutsu looked to be stronger than what he himself could pull off, which he found embarrassing to think of seeing as he was an Uchiha, the originators of the jutsu.

Landing on the ground, Tenten quickly patted out a leftover flame that had managed to get caught on her shirt before turning back towards Aito. She watched as he flipped his sword in his hand before holding it out in front of him in a defensive stance, daring her to attack. Clicking her teeth, she reached inside her shirt and pull out a small scroll, opening it up and placing it on the ground as Aito watched her curiously. "You wanna' play with swords? Well let's see just how good you are!"

In a puff of smoke, a sword appeared on top of the scroll as Tenten grabbed it eagerly. Flipping it backwards, she ran forward with battle cry as Aito widened his stance to prepare for the oncoming attack. Jumping into the air, Tenten attempted two quick strikes as she flipped over the boy, but Aito managed to deflect them effortlessly as he turned around just in time to block another strike from behind. Applying some pressure, he managed to push the girl away before quickly rushing forward to go back on the offensive. Though she was able to defend against most of his attacks, it was becoming painfully clear that Aito's skills as a swordsman were much higher than that of Tenten's.

Grunting, she tossed a shuriken down to the ground in between the, which Aito paid no mind to at first until he noticed what was attached to it. As Tenten jumped away, the area exploded as the explosive tag went off and obscured everything from sight. Panting, she allowed a small smile to form on her face as she figured there was no he could've reacted in time to leave that blast unscathed.

" **Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"**

"What?!" Tenten yelled as multiple red figures began to appear inside of the smoke. Suddenly, a large group of miniature fireballs shot out from the smoke, all circling in on Tenten's area. Swearing, she deftly began to dodge them to the best of her abilities, though this was easier said than done as they were crashing down upon her at a rapid rate. "All right, to hell with this!"

Jumping high into the air to avoid the last attack, Tenten summoned a larger scroll than last time as she glared down at Aito's position. She was happy to see that her attack did manage to do some damage though, as the left side of his shirt was burnt off and he was sporting noticeable burn marks. Gripping the scroll, her eyes glistened before she drew it open. A barrage of weapons began to rain down from above as Aito stared up at the sight with his mouth agape. Tenten smirked as once again she figured once again she finally had him.

Closing his eyes, Aito took in a huge breath as he performed a set of hand seals. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he realized what they were, clicking his teeth as Sakura looked over at him. "What is it Sasuke-kun?"

"He can't be thinking of…"

" **Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"** Aito yelled out as he performed the technique again. This time however, the number of fireballs were much more plentiful as they shot out from his mouth upwards towards the barrage of weapons. Instead of attacking Tenten directly, each ball seemed to aim for one of the weapons as they collided, which confused almost everyone until they notice the fire began to spread out in set lines back towards Tenten. Cursing, Tenten quickly dropped her hands to the side and began to descent back to the ground as the weapons followed after her limply.

Aito wasn't finished yet however, as he shot one final ball of fire out of his mouth towards Tenten's direction. Having no way to dodge it, she resided to her fate as she put her hands up to try and block as much damage as she could. The attack hit her straight on as she yelped out in pain, the flames encircling her as she continued her fall back to the Earth. Landing with a resounding crash, she stayed unmoving as small specks of flames still covered her body. Aito watched as Darui came down and quickly extinguished the remaining flames, panting heavily as he awaited the match results.

"Tenten Higurashi is unable to continue, Aito Urena proceeds on to the next round!"

"Wow, he's really good." Naruto remarked as the match ended. "Nothing like that all talk, loud mouthed brother of his."

"You're pretty loud mouthed yourself you know." Shikamaru replied off handedly. Naruto was about retort animatedly but figured he'd be playing into the role he was trying to avoid, so he settled for grumbling lowly to himself.

"I don't get it, why did Tenten drop her weapons? I mean she basically had him!" Kiba exclaimed with Sakura nodding in agreement.

"It was the ninja wire," Sasuke remarked as the others turned to face him. "He aimed the attack's so they would hit the wires and spread back to where she was. There was no other choice but for her to release her hold over the technique."

"That couldn't have been easy, he must have great control over that jutsu of his in order to pull something like that off." Shikamaru remarked a little more interested in the Shinobi now then before. Sasuke nodded in agreement while Naruto squinted up at the board to see who would be fighting next.

"Hey, that Karui girl is up next," Naruto said turning to look over at them. Said girl was currently rotating her shoulder in preparation, though it seems she somehow sensed Naruto staring at her as she turned to glare back at him. Returning it with a grin, he briefly allowed his eyes to settle on Samui before he brought them back down to the field as Darui came out to the center of it.

"I saw that." Shikamaru said nonchalantly as Naruto stumbled on the railing he was leaning on. Before he could offer an excuse, Darui cleared his throat into the mic in order to get the attention of the crowd.

"We've just received word that one of our next participants, Kanbaru Oshino, is unable to participate. As a result, Karui shall move on to the next round by way of forfeit." He said reaching back to stretch his neck. The crowd reacted with a ring of boo's as Karui's form deflated up in the competitor's section.

"What are you angry for? You get to pass on to the next round without even breaking a sweat." Omoi said before she slapped him behind the head.

"You idiot! If I don't fight that means I don't get to showcase my skills, which means I don't get promoted!" She said folding her arms over her chest. Sighing, Samui stretched before walking up and putting her hand on the girl's shoulder to get her attention.

"Relax, it's not like that's the only match you'll be fighting. You'll get your chance in the next round, just play it cool." She said calmly. Karui wanted to argue some more, but figured she couldn't with that logic so instead she settle for mumbling her displeasure to herself.

"Sure as hell wish that could've happened to me…" Shikamaru mumbled as the next set of names appeared on the screen. Naruto, who had taken to leaning over the edge of the balcony swaying his still good arm back and forth in boredom, was unprepared when a hand smacked him on the back and almost sent him over the edge. Looking back angrily, his face turned to that of confusion when he was met with someone he wasn't familiar with.

The girl had long, wavy orange hair that reached down to the end of her backside. She wore a dark blue sweatshirt that cut off at her midriff along with matching color sandals and sweatpants that hugged her figure more like spandex than anything else. She also sported a set of bright green eyes, though Naruto couldn't tell as the grin she was sending his way was wide enough to close them. Coupled with the freckles that dotted her cheeks, Naruto could effectively say that the girl in front of him was _very_ attractive, which is why he was currently having trouble trying not to stare overly perversely.

"So you're the Naruto Uzumaki I've heard so much about huh?" She said bringing her hand up to rub her chin as she looked over him calculatively. "Well, you certainly don't look like much...your match was a little impressive though so there's that."

Naruto listened to her speak about him as if he wasn't there dumbfoundedly until his thought process finally caught up to what was going. "Um, I don't wanna' be rude here but...who the hell are you?" He asked lamely pointing in her direction. The girl blinked at him blankly before bursting out into a fit of laughter, slapping him on the shoulder as he instinctively backed away from her, his 'dangerous person' radar going off wildly inside his head.

"Man, you're exactly like sensei said you would be!" She said in between giggles as she turned to walk away. "Make sure you pay close attention to my match!"

Watching her walk away, Naruto scratched the back of his head confusedly before turning around to face Shikamaru. "You got all of that right?"

"Nope. Didn't notice a thing." Shikamaru replied monotonously. He figured that whatever 'that' was would end up being to troublesome for his blood. It did involve Naruto after all. The two watched as the girl made her way down into the field, standing across from the black haired girl Naruto had noticed from Iwagakure earlier.

"So her name is either Sakaki or Kurotsuchi…" Naruto said scratching his cheek in thought. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the more serious looking girl before standing up a little more straight in interest.

"Well she definitely isn't named Kurotsuchi so that only leaves Sakaki." Shikamaru said. Noticing Naruto's look, he could already tell what question was coming next so he held up a hand to stop him before he could even start. "Kurotsuchi is the name of the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, which obviously has to be the name of the girl from Iwagakure. I learned that bit of previously useless information from my father."

"Ok, so her name is Sakaki huh...still doesn't ring a bell." Naruto said trying to figure out how the hell that girl seemed to know him. "And who in the world is this sensei person she was talking about?"

"Shut up, the match is starting." Shikamaru replied as he noticed Darui had brought his hand down to signal its start. Though the crowd was bristling with excitement, it quickly turned into confusion as they took noticed that the two females hadn't moved from their standing spots. Smirking, Sakaki put her hands on her hips as she cocked her head to the side.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack me?" She asked tauntingly as Kurotsuchi clicked her teeth.

"I get the feeling that I'm being underestimated here…" She replied lowly closing her eyes and kneeling down to the ground in a running position. A small glint formed in her eyes as they opened ever so slightly to glare at her opponent. "That's a big mistake on your end."

Disappearing in a burst of speed, she re-appeared directly on top of Sakaki's position, cocking back her fist as she prepared to deliver a haymaker directly into the girl's face. An audible gasp could be heard from most of the crowd as they showed surprise at the sudden burst of speed, mirroring Sakaki's own shock as she stared up at her with her mouth agape. Still, she managed to bring her arms up just in time to block the attack, though it still sent her skidding back a couple of spaces from the sheer force of the punch.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" She yelled out as Kurotsuchi landed back on the ground. Wasting no time, she was once again on Sakaki's person as she began to through a barrage of punches and kicks her way, though she was growing increasingly frustrated as none of them seemed to be connecting. Sakaki to her credit was handling the assault perfectly, dodging the majority of attacks and blocking the ones she couldn't avoid. Finally spotting an opening, she parried one of Kurotsuchi's attacks and gave her quick strike in the abdomen, getting the girl to hiss out in pain as she fell back clutching at the spot she was hit at.

"My turn!" The orange haired girl yelled out excitedly as she ran forward and launched a spinning kick in Kurotsuchi's direction. Dodging under it, Kurotsuchi was forced to continue her retreat as Sakaki threw her own series of wild punches and spinning kicks at her. To those watching, it looked as though a street brawler had somehow found their way into the tournament, though the shinobi present could see there was potent refiness to each of her strikes.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said watching her fight dumbfounded as he turned over to the boy in question. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That she fights almost exactly like Zabuza, minus the whole giant sword swinging thing?" Naruto replied with a blank look on his face. "Yep. We're on the same page here buddy. That's not possible though right?"

"Well it would explain the whole 'master' thing and how she knew of you right?" Shikamaru said grunting in irritation. "This is-"

"Troublesome?"

"You bet your ass it is."

Back in the arena, Kurotsuchi cursed out loud as she was forced to block another kick that sent her skidding backwards. Sliding to a stop, she let out a growl as she prepared for another attack when she noticed that Sakaki was no longer assaulting her, and was instead just standing across from her with a smirk on her face. Her anger reaching its boiling point, Kurotsuchi crouched back into her fighting stance as Sakaki's grin widened. "What the hell are you always smiling about?!"

"Oh nothing," Sakaki said, the smirk dropping a little as her eyes darkened and her stare turned more steely. "I mean, I'm always rather happy after I win a fight."

"What was that?" Kurotsuchi said dangerously as a deep mist began to settle over the area. Looking around, she pulled out a kunai to protect herself as she realized her vision had become extremely limited. _'This is different from the one that other guy used,'_ Kurotsuchi thought to herself looking around anxiously. _'It's more potent and less chakra saturated. She definitely knows what she's doing.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was forced to deflect a series of kunai that had been thrown her way before jumping away as she tried to determine where the projectiles came from. Realizing her eyes were almost useless at the moment, she took a moment to collect her breath as she calmed her breathing.

"That's good, stay calm," Sakaki called out mockingly from with within the mist. "Breath in and out. In and out. In and out."

" _In and out."_

Kurotsuchi jumped backwards as Sakaki's words were whispered into her left ear. The green eyed girl appeared behind her, but Kurotsuchi sensed her just in time to block an attack aimed at the back of her neck. Before the girl could slip away again, Kurotsuchi grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her in close, kneeing the girl in the stomach as Sakaki heaved out from the attack. Releasing her from her grip, s

he finished it off with a kick to the side as Sakaki was sent flying back into the mist.

"How do you like that?" Kurotsuchi mumbled as she watched after where the girl had went. It didn't take long for Sakaki to recover however, appearing right in front of an unsuspecting Kurotsuchi as she sunk her fist into her face, following it up with two more hits to the head before jumping into the air and launching a kick into her side temple. Sasuke grimaced with his sharingan active while the others took notice of his reaction.

"What the hell's happening down there Sasuke, I can't see anything!" Naruto yelled irritably feeling as though he was missing out on something good. "She tells me to pay attention to her match then proceeds to cover the arena in mist…"

"Let's just say they're brawling," Sasuke replied, grimacing once again. "Hard."

Back in the arena, the two Kunoichi met in the middle as they clashed kunais, both pushing to try to get an edge over the other. Neither could out power the other however as they were both forced into a momentary retreat before clashing once again, their kunais sparking again and again as they collided with each other. Falling to the ground, Sakaki kicked the feet out from underneath Kurotsuchi, who was forced to put her hand out to soften the fall as the orange haired girl flipped over her, launching her kunai down at her while Kurotsuchi did the same to knock it out of the air.

Righting herself, She ducked under a kick before coming back up and knocking Sakaki into the air with an uppercut. She recovered with a flip and landed back on the ground, dashing forward as the two continued to trade blows in what had essentially become an all out Taijutsu battle. The two's fist collided as a powerful shockwave went throughout the arena. Jumping away from each other, they took a moment to catch their breath while Sakaki smiled over at her opponent.

"I see you aren't settling for riding on the name of your grandfather, you're pretty good." She remarked as Kurotsuchi snorted in response.

"That old fart has nothing to do with me. Besides," she remarked standing up a little taller. "I'll be surpassing him as a shinobi when it's all said and done. It's only a matter of time."

Up in the Kage's booth, Sarutobi allowed a bemused smile to grace his face as Onoki grunted at her words. "The young are certainly ambitious aren't they?"

"More like disrespectful if anything…" The short statured man replied as they continued to watch the fight.

"Well, this has been fun and all but I think it's time I wrap things up," Kurotsuchi said as she took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. She discreetly performed hand signs before dropping down to the ground. **"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Blast Technique!"**

The face of a large dragon emerged from the ground behind Kurotsuchi, taking shape above her form as it pointed down at weary Sakaki. It began to shake before a series of large, compacted mud balls began to shoot out from its mouth in the direction of the girl. Eyes wide, she quickly flipped backwards to avoid the first few before hopping to the side to avoid the rest. Sliding to a stop, she performed a series of seals herself before stopping to aim at the Iwa kunoichi.

" **Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"**

The jet stream of water burst from her lips as it jetted in Kurotsuchi's direction, who was forced to release control of her own jutsu and move out of the way. Coming to a stop, with a roar she cocked her fist back before slamming it into the ground. A series of pillars began to erupt from where she struck, all heading towards Sakaki as she jumped to the side to avoid them.

"Here's another one!" Kurotsuchi yelled slamming her other fist into the ground in a similar fashion. This the time the pillar only erupted in one spot, right under Sakaki as it hit her while she was still airborne and knocked her away. Crashing into the ground, Kurotsuchi stood up and placed her hands on her hips as the crowd erupted into rounds of cheering. Her smirk stood in place even as Sakaki began to get up, wiping a bit of blood from her mouth as she too smirked at her opponent.

"You're good," Sakaki said as she got back up to her feet. "Really good."

"The feelings mutual, you might have made it pretty far in this tournament had you not been matched up with me," Kurotsuchi said while adjusting the gloves on her fingers. "Too bad luck wasn't on your side this time."

" **Water Release: Water Pellet Technique!"** Sakaki yelled before shooting a series of small, chakra infused pellets of water in Kurotsuchi's direction. Instead of dodging, the girl instead decided to perform a set of signs herself before dropping to the ground again.

" **Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"** She yelled as a wall of earth shot up to protect her from the projectiles. Not stopping there, she proceeded to run up the wall and flip over it, shocking Sakaki as she watched the girl soar overhead. "Wanna' see something cool?"

"Not real-"

" **Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique!"** Kurotsuchi yelled before spitting out two globs of quicklime that descended quickly, slamming down into Sakaki as she howled in pain and fell to the ground. It was just then that Kurotsuchi had finished preparing her next jutsu.

" **Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!"** she yelled out, sprouting the jet of water down to where Sakaki was laying. A great deal of steam rose into the air as soon as the technique made contact, the quicklime hardening as it pinned the girl to where she was landing. Coming back down to the ground, Kurotsuchi stared down at her smugly while Sakaki continued to struggle to break free from the cement. "I hope you know you're not getting out of that."

"No fair, no fair!" Sakaki exclaimed still struggling from where she lied. "What even was that last technique?"

"A little specialty of mine, nothing more." Kurotsuchi said turning to walk away. "Sakaki was it? That was a fun match. Like I said earlier, it was just bad luck on your end that you had to match up with me." Sakaki cried animatedly while the medical staff attempted to free her from the cement and take her off of the field. Naruto whistled as he watched Kurotsuchi make her way up to them on the opposite side.

"She's good, though I guess that's to be expected from Kage's granddaughter huh?" He mused as Shikamaru let out a loud yawn.

"I'm still trying to figure out what's the deal with that Sakaki girl. How did hell did she know about us, or better yet who is this 'master' of hers that knows of us?" He asked aloud before Naruto gave him a slap on the back.

"Don't worry about it too much Shika or you'll end up getting gray hairs, besides I'm sure it's nothing really." Naruto said as he went back to leaning over the balcony. His teammate sighed as he too leaned over the railing to get more comfortable.

"I swear that nonchalant attitude of yours is going to be the death of you."

* * *

"That grand daughter of yours is something else. Not only is she a splendid all around Kunoichi, but to be able to use three elemental natures at her age as well the famed lava release, maybe it isn't too far fetched after all to believe she will someday surpass you." Sarutobi said as Onoki looked away with a 'hmph'.

"She's a brat, and while you may be all for the next generation rising up and taking over the reigns, I for one would like to hold on to my position of power a little while longer before allowing them to take over." Onoki replied as he watched her reunite with her teammate, clearly still beaming over the win. "What do you call it, the ol' 'Will of Fire' is it? Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me."

"Be that as it may," Hiruzen said, his eyes taking on a sagely look as he peered over the group of shinobi down in the competitors booth. "If these chunin exams have shown us one thing so far, it is that the next generation of shinobi rising are doing so quickly. It may not be long before we don't have a say in the matter regardless of our dormant feelings."

"If you two are done, the next match is about to begin." A replied, quickly becoming bored with the topic the two older men had chosen to discuss about. Walking to the center of the field, Dauri cracked his neck tiredly before calling out the next set of names.

"Will Kenji Kubo and Omoi come do-"

"WAIT!"

Arena falling silent, everyone looked up to the source of the sound coming from the competitors booth. Wiggling in his standing spot while holding on to his private area, Omoi nervously smiled down at the proctor as he point behind him. "Could I use the bathroom first? I _really_ gotta' go."

The entire arena fell out as Darui simply facepalmed at the request. Letting out a sigh, he looked up at the still squirming boy before waiving him off. "Fine, just make it quick alright? And if anyone has to go, I suggest you do it now because there won't be anymore special bathroom breaks!"

Sakura shook her head as she watched Omoi disappear down the hall. "Honestly, what idiot drinks so much to the point that they can't control their bladder on a day as important as this?"

The sound of feet shuffling caught everyone's attention as they turned to see Naruto slowly making his way down to the bathroom. Noticing that he had been caught, he chuckled nervously before breaking off into a full sprint much like Omoi did earlier. Everyone watched after him silently until the sound of Sasuke clearing his voice and following after the blonde took their attention away from him. As he too disappeared around the corner, Sakura let out a groan as she brought her hand up to her face in disappointment.

"Why do I even bother?"

Up in the Kage's booth, they were all currently discussion who had impressed them so far, save for one who turned to look over at the competitors booth through his viel. Catching the eye of Temari, the Kazekage nodded at her ever so slightly before turning to face forward, the interaction all but impossible to spot if you weren't directly looking for it. The message was delivered however, as Temari took a deep breath before turning over to her siblings.

"Come on you guys, it's time."

Kankuro swallowed a knot in his throat and nodded at his sister, while Gaara simply turned to stare up their father for a moment. Almost reluctantly, he closed his eyes and turned to follow after his siblings as they made their way out of the competitors area. They passed by the Konoha teams, who paid them no mind besides Shikamaru, narrowing his eyes at the sight of all of them leaving at once before deciding to put that information to the back of his mind. A few minutes later, a much more relieved looking Omoi came back into view, letting out a sigh as he passed by the others.

"Hey, you didn't happen to see Naruto and Sasuke-kun while you were back there did you? They left around the same time as you did, they should be back by now." Sakura asked as Omoi stopped. Looking up in thought, he shook his head to show he hadn't as he continued walking.

"Nope, I didn't see either one of them."

Watching him leave, Sakura brought her hand up to her chin as she hummed in thought. "Well that's weird, I hope those two didn't end up getting lost on the way there."

"Knowing those two idiots, I wouldn't put it past them." Kiba snorted, dodging a punch from Sakura as Shikamaru watched on with a frown on his face.

For some reason, there was a bad feeling swirling inside of his gut.

* * *

"Why did I follow you in the first place? I should've known this would happen…"

"Shut the hell up, I said we aren't lost!"

"Well were not at the bathroom, that's for sure."

Growling to himself, Naruto took a deep breath as he tried to hold himself back from striking the passive aggressive Uchiha as they turned another corner. The fact that he still had to relieve himself wasn't helping his nerves anymore as they were still searching for the bathroom.

"There's not even anyone in this area," Sasuke said looking around. "How do you even manage to get this lost?"

"Look, I didn't hear you saying anything when you were following after me like a lost dog, so don't start talking now." Naruto said while Sasuke rolled his eyes in response. It was starting to look as if they had accidentally wandered into the storage area of the stadium judging by what the environment was starting to look like and he was about to suggest they turn back when the sound of hushed voices caught his attention. Holding his hand out to stop Sasuke from continuing, he motioned for the boy to be quiet as he creeped up to the next corner. Peeking his head around, he quickly brought it back out of view as he caught sight of the sand siblings standing together.

"Where the hell is this guy? This is where we're supposed to meet him isn't it?" Kankuro asked impatiently turning to the eldest of the group. Temari seemingly ignored his question, instead holding her chin in thought while Gaara simply stood next to her. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly a whirring sound began to ring throughout the area. Next to them a vortex appeared with the form of a man slowly coming out from inside of it.

"What the _fuck_ is that?" Naruto whispered as he and Sasuke continued to watch on. Fully visible now, they could see that the person was a man in a full black cloak, with a gray mask covering his face. Only a single hole, positioned over where his right eye would be, decorated it as he reached up to reaffirm it against his face. The sand siblings had backed up away from his presence, save for Gaara who simply stared at the new comer curiously as Temari began to speak up?

"A-are you the person we're supposed to be meeting?" She asked tentatively as the man turned his attention over towards her. After a moment of tense silence, he seemingly nodded to himself before walking up to the trio.

"All of the preparations have been set into place," He said before turning to look at Gaara specifically. "Now it is time for you all to do your share in this little affair."

' _Little affair? What the hell is going on here?'_ Naruto thought feeling more uneasy about what he was witnessing by the minute. Apparently Sasuke was sharing his sentiments as well, because he had never seen the boy as tense as he seemed to be at that moment.

Suddenly, the same vortex that the man appeared in took shape over the siblings, who disappeared inside it before they even had a chance to react. The room fell silent once again as the stranger simply stood unmoving in the place he was. Not having a clue what the hell was going on, Naruto decided he had seen enough and it was time they make their leave before they ended up getting caught in this little fiasco. Turning around, he was brought to the sight of Sasuke standing up in front of him, sharingan active and glowing threateningly as the man who was previously standing around the corner was now infront of them. Only one thought ran through his mind, and it wasn't one he was able to hold back from saying out loud.

"Shit."

"Shit indeed, this was supposed to be a private meeting. Who would have guessed we would have had visitors," The man said amusingly as Naruto and Sasuke slowly backed away from him. Chuckling to himself, he took a step forward, causing both of the shinobi to take a defensive stance against him as they prepared to attack. "Still, this could prove to be even more interesting in a way…"

The whirring sound from early came back, though this time it was much louder than before. Naruto's vision began to distort as he grabbed at his head to try to fight whatever the hell was going on with him. Whatever it was was winning however, as his vision slowly began to fade into black. He did manage to get one last look at the mysterious man, with what he saw being the icing on the cake of this already shitty situation.

' _Sharingan…'_

* * *

"Kenji is unable to continue, Omoi moves on to the next round!"

"That Omoi kid is pretty good huh?" Tenten said musingly as he made his way off of the field. Noticing no one had replied to her, she looked up to see everyone looking around confusedly, prompting her take a similar look on her own face. "Uhh, what's the matter guys?"

"Naruto and Sasuke-kun still haven't come back yet, and Sasuke-kun's match is next…" Sakura trailed off as she looked around worriedly. It appears as though she wasn't the only one concerned however, as Darius suddenly appeared in the competitors with a pensive look on his face.

"Where is Sasuke Uchiha?" He asked bluntly looking around at the group. He was met with silenced as the others looked around as well, unsure of what exactly to tell the man. Finally, Shikamaru cleared his throat and caught the attention of the older man.

"Naruto and Sasuke still haven't returned from the bathroom break earlier, we don't really know where they are actually." He answered while rubbing the back of his head tiredly. Darui seemed to silently mule over this information before nodding to himself and disappearing in a poof of smoke, leaving the group of Genin even more confused than they were before.

"You guys don't think something bad happened to them right?" Sakura asked worriedly as Shikamaru let out a sigh and looked back out towards the field. While he'd like to believe that wasn't the case, the fact that Naruto and Sasuke of all people were involved led him to believe that more than likely something troublesome was brewing. The sound of yawning broke everyone out of their temporary stumper as they turned to see a waking Ino stretching from her sitting position. Noticing the looks off the people around her, she cocked her head to the side curiously as she tried to read the current atmosphere of the group.

"Um, why are you all looking at me like that? Did I miss something?" She asked as she quickly scanned over the group. "Hey, where's Sasuke-kun and Whiskers?"

"Well that's just the question of the day isn't it?" Shikamaru mumbled as he grabbed the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. Elsewhere Darui reappeared inside the Kage's, immediately garnering the attention of the Raikage who addressed him angrily.

"Darui, why haven't the next set of matches been announced yet? Has something happened?" He asked as Darui tensed up slightly. He glanced over at the Hokage, hesitating for a moment before coughing into his hand and speaking.

"Raikage-sama, it appears as though two participating Shinobi from Konoha have gone missing. One Sasuke Uchiha and the other being Naruto Uzumaki," he started as the Third Hokage reacted visibly. "Not only that, but I've gotten confirmation that the team from Sunagakure has also not been accounted for. I've already signaled for a search party to be sent out around the premises, but so far no word has come back."

The Raikage contemplated the news wordlessly before his attention turned over to the Hokage and Kazekage, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he was met with an even tempered gaze from the former. "Rather strange for two teams too just disappear in the middle of an exam. I sincerely hope there isn't some underhanded ploy taking place here in _my_ village. I highly doubt two men of your stature would be as foolish to do something so reckless."

"Interesting enough _Raikage-dono,_ I was about to question you along the same lines. The fact that the Shinobi who have come up missing are of rather important status from both villages is understandably a little hard to overlook." Sarutobi replied, his even tempered gaze never once breaking stride. Onoki simply listened with his eyes closed and his arms folded against his chest, seemingly not all bothered by the oppressive pressure that had taken hold over the area. Darui wasn't hold up as well comparably as he eyes quickly darted between the Hokage and Raikage, sweat accumulating on his forehead as the two continued their silent battle.

Seemingly relenting first, A let out a sigh as he gripped both ends of his chair and stood up slowly. "Well no good will come from us sitting here doing nothing. Hokage-dono, Kazekage-dono, if you would accompany me to my office we can begin hashing these matters out," he said before turning to Darui. "I want a full search party dispatched throughout the entire village. I don't expect to hear you reporting back until either those brats are found or _every_ corner of this village has been checked. Understood?"

"Sir!" Darui replied as the Raikage turned to leave. "Should I make an announcement about the postponement of the exams?"

"Of course, but make no mentioning of the reason," A said before turning to Onoki. "I hope you understand that we would prefer if you stayed within the village limits until this ordeal has been solved. After all, we wouldn't want any false _pretenses_ to start occurring would we?"

While it wasn't explicitly stated, the underhanded meaning behind the Raikage's words weren't lost on anyone present. While none of his Shinobi were directly involved and this his wasn't his village, he wasn't completely absolved of having something to do with what was going on. Chuckling to himself, Onoki rose out of his chair and motioned for his escorts to follow.

"If you need me, I shall be in my designated hotel area," he stated before stopping momentarily to look back at them. "I do sincerely hope that whatever this matter is, is not a serious one."

With that, he and his entourage disappeared out of view as Darui hastily bowed and did the same. The Raikage motioned for the two remaining leaders to follow after him as they exited the Kage's viewing booth, absentmindedly noting the sounds of booing coming from the crowd as it was announced that the Chunin exams would be postponed due to unforeseen events. Stifling a headache that was threatening to rattle his brain, Hiruzen held back a grunt as his thoughts contradicted the stoney exterior he was holding on the outside.

' _Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun...what matter has befallen you two?'_

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly drifted open as he came back too, still completely disoriented and nauseous as his mind tried to focus back in on what was happening around him. It didn't take very long for him to figure out one important fact however.

He was falling. Free falling, to be exact. From _really_ high up.

Turning sideways, he brought his hands up to his mouth as he barely managed to hold back his own vomit as a wave nausea ran over him. Managing to push it back down, he looked up to see that Sasuke was in the same predicament as him, falling just above the blonde as they rapidly descended down to the ground. Finally gaining back some of his barings, he figured he didn't have long before he would officially be a red mark on the ground, and needed to think of something fast.

' _Ok Naruto, think think think think think think…'_ He thought to himself trying to figure out a way to save their asses. A idea suddenly came to him as he grinned gleefully and brought his hands up to his mouth in a cupping form as he called out to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke! If you want to stay alive, you're gonna' need to latch on to my back right now!" Naruto yelled as the Uchiha strained to hear what he was saying.

"What?!"

"GRAB! MY! BACK!"

Not really understanding but figuring his comrade had some sort of plan going for him, Sasuke furthered his descent until he was right on top of Naruto, grabbing on to him from behind as the boy ran through a set of hand signs. Stopping just as they broke through the tree line, Naruto brought his hand up to his mouth as he took in a deep breathe.

" **Wind Release: Breakthrough!"**

Spouting a burst of air underneath them, it effectively brought their rapid descent down to a soft landing as Sasuke hopped off of Naruto and on to the ground when they were close enough. Taking a moment to calm his nerves, Naruto dusted himself off as he looked around their present location, squinting his eyes as he tried to identify where they were. The tall trees and warm weather reminded him of Konoha, but there was no way they could be all the way back at…

The sound of a resounding explosion stirred him from his thoughts as he turned in the general direction of the sound. Looking up into the air, he caught the sight of smoke rising up in the distance around the same area he imagined the explosion came from. Looking over at Sasuke, the two shared a nod before jumping up to climb the tallest tree they could find. Reaching the top, Naruto threw his hand over his eyes to block the sun out as he peered into the distance. His face quickly paled as began to process what he was looking at, almost falling over as he suddenly felt very weak in the knees.

His thoughts that the climate they were in resembled Konoha turned out to be more than just a thought, as he found himself staring down at the very village he had called home for all 12 years of his life. However, what was staring back at him was very different than what he remembered.

Smoke trails were rising from various points throughout the village, and he could hear the distant sounds of combat even from the distance they were at.

"Sasuke...are you seeing this?" He asked looking over at the raven haired boy, who nodded his head in response without taking his eyes off of the sight. He quickly shot a pulse of chakra through his system to make sure this wasn't a genjutsu, but it only served to confirm that what he was looking at was indeed very real. "But how? I don't even-we were literally just in Kumogakure a few minutes ago! This doesn't make any sense!"

"Honestly, that doesn't matter right now," Sasuke said, his fist trembling at his side as the disbelief he felt initially was turning into anger. "Somebody's attacking _our_ village, and the cowards waited until Lord Third was away to do it. We have to go help."

Naruto took in a couple deep breaths, realizing he was getting pretty close to having a panic attack. Calming down, he clenched and unclenched his fist multiple times before nodding to himself.

"You're right, let's go and-"

His speech was cut off as the instincts within him screamed for him to dodge, which he did along with Sasuke as something quickly struck the top of the tree where they were standing at. Landing back on the ground, Sasuke scanned the area with his sharingan active, grunting to himself as the cause of the attack came strolling out from behind a tree. Naruto's eyes widened before his face dropped into one of exasperation as he saw who it was as well.

' _Oh we really don't need this right now…'_

Standing in front of them was Gaara, his sand whipping wildly around him as he stared down both of the Genin with his common stoic face in place. The other two siblings followed not too far after him, Temari gasping in shock as she took notice of who it was.

"How did you get here? You supposed to be all the way back in Kumogakure!" She exclaimed as Naruto narrowed his eyes at the group.

"I could ask you all the same thing, who the hell was that man you were talking to, what the hell did he do to us, and why the hell are we back in Konoha?" He asked angrily as he pointed back in the general direction of the village. "And I'd like to know if you have any idea what's happening to _my_ village as well."

"Damn brat, let's just kill him and move on with what we've gotta' do." Kankuro said cracking his knuckles as he prepared to step forward. A wave of sand stopped him in his tracks however as Gaara continued to stare the two down, seemingly not even acknowledging his siblings presence.

"These two are my prey, you will not interfere." He drawled slowly as Temari walked up to stand next to him.

"Gaara, please! We don't have time to waste on-" she started before flinching as his sand quickly surrounded her body in a loose haze. Turning back towards her, his eyes didn't waver as he held his hand up in her direction.

"Do you want to die?"

Temari stood unmoving, looking away as Gaara allowed his sand to linger around her for a moment before it began to regroup around his feet. Turning back to Naruto and Sasuke, he took a step forward while both Shinobi dropped into a fighting stance. Raising his arms, more sand began to leak out of his gourd as it formed a wall behind him.

"Now then...how will you two make me feel alive?"

Naruto and Sasuke both darted out of the way as two pillars of sand crashed down where they were standing. Reaching into his jacket, Naruto flung 5 shurikens in Gaara's direction, who didn't even move from his spot as his sand deflected them away easily. Sasuke appeared behind him, launching a kick that was once again blocked by the quickly recovering sand defense. Throwing his hands out, the sand took on the shape of mini shurikens that he directed in Naruto's direction. Cursing, the boy repeated the same seals that had effectively saved his life earlier.

' _ **Wind Release: Breakthrough!'**_

The strong current of wind protruding from his mouth managed to stop the shurikens in their tracks as they were blown back to Gaara. He was preparing to attack again when Sasuke appeared in front of him, bringing his hand up to his mouth as he jumped into the air.

" **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"**

The giant ball of fire quickly covered the area Gaara was standing in, with Sasuke prolonging its duration by pumping some extra chakra into the technique. Finally relenting, he landed back on the ground as the flames began to disperse. Peering into the cloud of smoke, he couldn't react in time as an arm of sand shot out from within, grabbing onto and slamming him into the base of tree as he let out a pained scream. Stepping out from the smoke, Gaara clenched his fist tighter, squeezing Sasuke harder as he tried to escape its grasp. He was forced to release it however as three Naruto's appeared on either side of him, forcing him to jump backwards to avoid them.

Unbeknownst to him, the original darted out from behind the shrubbery in a surprising burst of speed and planted a kick directly into his back, pushing off of him as the sand quickly recovered and tried to surround him. At that exact moment, Sasuke had recovered and managed to get in close, striking him with a quick roundhouse kick upwards that connected with the redhead's jaw.

By now Gaara's sand was scrabbling to protect him, completely leaving behind the idea of offensive attacks and instead trying to circle around the airborne Shinobi. Sasuke however had no plans of allowing him to rest, finishing another set of seals as brought his hand back up to his mouth again.

" **Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"**

The small balls of fire spurted out of his mouth, with each one slowly striking away at the sand cocoon that Gaara was attempting to incircle himself in. One particular hit managed to break through and actually strike Gaara, who was blown out of the half sphere as his body fell to the ground. Sasuke was about to follow it up with an attack before he could hit the ground, but was beat to the punch as Naruto suddenly grabbed hold of Gaara's form, twirling in the air before launching him back down towards the ground far more forceful than he was previously going.

Hitting the ground hard, a glob of blood erupted from Gaara's mouth as the impact was strong enough to cause a crack in the earth. Landing next to the Uchiha, Naruto took notice of how he was slightly panting and sweating from the forehead. "Maybe you should take it easy on the Jutsu's, you're gonna' burn yourself out," He remarked as Sasuke wiped some of the sweat off of him.

"I'm nowhere close to burning out, besides, maybe if I wasn't doing the bulk of the work here I wouldn't have to expend so much energy." He replied, purposely ignoring the chided look Naruto sent his way. He grunted as he noticed Gaara was already rising back up to his feet, sand falling off of his body as his armour peeled off. Looking up with a glint in his eyes, both Naruto and Sasuke unconsciously took a step back as the murderous intent became more potent in the area. The sand whirled around ominously before encircling around his left arm, more and more pounding on until it had completely submerged it. The same began to happen to the left side of his face, and it didn't take long for them to realize this was the transformation they had seen at the exams. "Looks like he's finally getting serious."

"Which is better for us," Naruto said as he strided forward with a determined look on his face. "The more sand he compacts on to his body, the less we have to worry about it running around freely and protecting him. If it's a brawl he wants, then I'm more than happy to oblige. You sit this one out, alright?"

Gaara eye'd Naruto stalkingly as he slowly paced around him. It almost felt as if he was cornering an animal that was just waiting for the right moment to pounce, a moment that Naruto didn't plan on giving him. He quickly brought 10 clones into existence, all of which charged directly at Gaara. With a roar, the Suna Nin swung his arm in a circular motion and wiped all 10 out in a single swoop. The smoke from the dispelled clones clouded his vision however, and he was barely able to bring his arm upin time to block the 3 kunai's thrown at him. Growling, he was preparing to lash out again when the sound of sizzling reached his ears.

An explosion rocked the area that Gaara was standing in as Naruto put some distance between himself and it. He whistled as he admire his handy work, twirling a kunai on his finger before gripping it and falling into a defensive stance. _'Come on Gaara, I know that wasn't enough to put you down for the count.'_ Peering into the smoke, he was completely unprepared when a gust of wind knocked him off of his feet, blowing him along with greenery behind him out of the area until he slammed into a tree trunk hard enough to knock the entire thing over. Grabbing at his shoulder, he hissed as the old wound from his match in the chunin exams stund his shoulder for a moment. Looking over, he narrowed his eyes as Temari landed in front of him along with Kankuro, both looking as though they were prepared for a fight.

"What happened to you guys sitting this one out?" Naruto said as he slowly got back up to his feet, wincing as he rolled his shoulder around to regain feeling in it. Temari's glare intensified as she opened her fan fully from the get go, crouching down as she prepared another attack.

"We're not going to sit back while you two attempt to overrun Gaara. Besides, we still have a mission to complete, so we can't afford to stay here playing around with you lot for long."

"You should be happy we're the ones you're fighting," Kankuro said as he reached for a kunai. "I guarantee you that other brat is going to be in a lot more pain than you'll be in."

Clicking his tongue, Naruto poundered how he was going to go about taking out the two opponents in front of him as quickly as possible and get back over to where Sasuke and Gaara was. There was no way he wanted to leave him alone with someone like Gaara for an extended period time.

From what he could remember, Kankuro would be easy enough to handle seeing as Fuu had already destroyed his puppet and from his knowledge that was his bread and butter. The real problem would be Temari, whose mastery over the wind element threatened to either blow him away or cut him to pieces at any moment depending on how she was feeling. _'Alright it's settled, Kankuro has got to go first.'_ Pulling out a set of shuriken, Naruto launched them at the duo while quickly flashing through hand seals.

' _ **Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!'**_

The 3 shurikens quickly turned into a hundred as they threatened to overrun the sand siblings. Gripping her fan tightly, Temari swung it with a roar as a current of wind rendered them useless as they were blown back into the air. Looking back over to where Naruto was standing with a 'hmph', she gasped when she realized he was no longer there. Looking around, she was about to call out for him to come and fight like a man when his voice rang out throughout the clearing.

" **Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"**

Temari cursed as she hopped into the air avoid the blades of wind as they came slashing from behind. Kankuro hopped into the air as well, though he was still in defensive mode as a Fuma shuriken was still flying his way. He chuckled to himself as he easily managed to slide his hand into the middle of the weapon, catching and stopping its flight. "Hah! Looks like the brat missed out on shuriken practice!"

"Kankuro! Drop it now!"

"Too late!" Naruto yelled, poofing into view as he gripped Kankuro's wrist tightly. Before the older boy could react, he slammed his fist deep into his stomach, leaving it there as the sibling hunched over in pain. Grabbing him by his hood, he held on to it as they fell to the ground before slamming the boy down face first, causing even Temari to flinch at the brutal nature of the attack. Pulling his head up ever so slightly, Naruto nodded to himself as he confirmed that Kankuro was unconscious before dropping him unceremoniously and turning his full attention to Temari. The cold and calculative look he held made her take a step back, vaguely reminding her of the look her brother would always give off.

"I'll give you one last chance, take your brother and surrender before I have to subdue you by force." He said lowly as Temari gripped her fan tighter. The sound of a large boom from nearby temporarily took over his attention as he saw a cloud of dust rising up. Realizing that that must of been where Sasuke and Gaara, Naruto cursed as he realized he was taking way to long and needed to get back to help Sasuke. Pulling out a kunai he turned to Temari and crouched down, eyeing her threateningly as she too dropped into a defensive stance. "Time's up."

Running towards her, Naruto side stepped a series of wind blades being sent his way as Temari swung her fan in his direction. One managed to catch him on the leg though, causing him to stumble as she took this opportunity to rush him herself. Running forward, she reached back before slamming Naruto in the stomach with her fan, launching him up into the air before she jumped and followed after him. Quickly surpassing his rising rate, she swung her fan one final time as a tornado began to form around Naruto.

" **Wind Release: Sickle Weasel Technique!"**

The tornado slammed into the ground, with Temari gliding around it on her fan as she tired to peer inside it. While she couldn't see anything, she knew for sure that she had caught Naruto in the attack, and reckoned right now that he was being shredded up by the wind blades inside of it. Feeling a slight pince of regret, she quickly shook it off as she glided down to where Kankuro was. She still needed to gather up Gaara and insure the invasion of the leaf continued on as planned. They were already running behind schedule, they couldn't afford to delay anymore. She hoped Kankuro would be able to pull it together, if not they would have to leave him behind and…

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt Technique!"**

"Wha-" Temari barely got out before she was struck out of the sky, with her fan falling behind her as she crumpled up on the ground. As the tornado began to disperse, a cut up and bloodied Naruto stumbled out of it, one eye closed as blood was leaking into it from his forehead.

"Ok, that was _not_ how I had that planned out in my head…" He mumbled regretting coming at Temari with a frontal assault. Wiping the blood from his face so he could open his left eye again, he suddenly had a lot more respect for Ino than he previously did for still fighting through that attack. It really hurt like hell.

He held back a groan as he saw Temari shakily getting up to her feet. Both eyeing each other, Temari's eyes quickly flickered over to where her fan was lying, with Naruto's following their movement and realizing what she was thinking. He rushed forward as she made a dash for it, stopping her in her tracks as Naruto appeared before her and launched a punch that she was forced to dodge. Jumping backwards, She tried to put some distance between them but failed to do so as Naruto quickly filled the gap, hitting her with a barrage of punches that she tried block but was finding it hard to keep up with.

Breaking through her defenses, he kicked her legs out from underneath her before grabbing her by the arm and swinging her up into the air. Recovering quickly, Temari launched a kunai down that Naruto blocked with one of his own before jumping after her. The two met, kunais colliding as Temari parried his attack, spinning in the air catching Naruto off guard as she grabbed his shoulders and her planted her feet on his back before kicking him back down to the ground. Rolling to soften his fall, he quickly turned around and launched an explosive ball over by Temari's fan, halting her from grabbing it as the explosion kept her away.

"I'll be damned if I let you pick up that fan again!" He yelled as the two once again began exchanging strikes with their kunai, the sound of the two weapons clanging throughout the clearing as they both repelled each others respect strikes. Each time the two met, Temari was pushed back further and further as she grunted under the force of Naruto's blows. One particular strike knocked hers out of her hand, forcing her to jump away as Naruto took a swipe at where she was standing.

" **Wind Release: Wind Torpedo Technique!"** She yelled, spurting the compressed air bullet at Naruto who wasn't able to dodge in time as it exploded upon impact, launching the boy backwards until he slowly slid to a stop face down. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Temari stared over at his unmoving form through one eye as she hunched over to lean on her knees. A look of disbelief adorned her face as she watched him get back up to his feet, a giant hole in his shirt as he reached up to clutch at a red spot on his exposed chest.

"How the hell are you still standing?" she asked almost hysterically as Naruto simply stared over at her, his chest rising erratically as he tried to slow his breathing. Getting it back under control, he stood up to his full height as Temari tried to do the same. The two stared each other down, two kunais appearing their hands as they prepared to continue their battle. Naruto was about to make a dash towards her before the ground suddenly began to shake, knocking him off balance as he tripped over and fell. Looking up, deduced Temari had no idea what was going as well seeing as she was looking around just as confused as he was. Standing back up, he froze as an ominous presence washed over where they were standing, causing him to involuntarily shudder as his breathing hitched.

' _W-what the hell is this?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he tried to get his emotions under control. He hadn't felt like this since the time back in the wave when he first went up against Zabuza, though the killer intent and pure bloodlust in the air was much more potent compared to the one back then. Looking over, he saw that Temari had frozen as well, looking over into the forest with a horrified look on her face as she took a step back.

"Gaara…" She mumbled, getting Naruto to swear as he realized it was coming over from where Sasuke and Gaara were. He was about to take off towards them when a large gust of wind and smoke exploded from that direction, knocking both Temari and Naruto further back as the current seemed to uproot the entire forest itself. When things began to calm down, Naruto pushed a small tree off of his body as he coughed to clear his lungs of the dust he inhaled. Sitting up, he shook his head before peering up into the sky, mouth dropping in awe at what he saw.

"What the _fuck_ is that?!"

" **YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW"**

* * *

 **Guess who's not dead! Not yet anyways, but I genuinely apologize for the 4 month hiatus/break I took. I won't bore you with the details, but just know it was really hard for me to get any writing done at all, and when I finally was, which was like the past week, it took me a moment to get my mojo back. Really though, I apologize.**

 **Anyways, Chunin Exams/Invasion arc should be done either next chapter or the one after that. I think you all will really like where things are going next, ive had plenty of time think it through after all.**

 **By the way, Black Panther is amazing. You should really go see it if you haven't already. Ok, now I'm gone.**


	19. With A Little Bit of Luck

**Chapter 19: With A Little Bit of Luck**

* * *

The past half hour had been a rather hectic one back in Kumogakure. Patrols were shifting around and within the village routinely, and the general atmosphere had everyone on edge. Those taking part in the exams had been told to return back to their hotel rooms and weren't allowed to leave under any circumstances unless told differently. Hiruzen meanwhile was seated within a council room stationed inside the Raikage's main building, waiting along side the Kazekage for any word of their missing subjects.

He looked up as the front door of the room opened and Kakashi strolled inside escorted by two other Kumo guards as he made his way over to the Hokage. Sparring the Kazekage a brief nod of recognition, he walked over and leaned down by Hiruzen, just enough so that he could whisper in his ears.

"We've conducted as much of a search within the village as we could, but there's still no sign of Naruto or Sasuke. I reckon we could convince them to let us check the outskirts of the village's ranges…"

"At this point it would do us no good, if they had manage to get that far then they surely have fled a good ways away from the village by now," Hiruzen said finishing what Kakashi was starting to allude to. "That's alright, you can call back our forces now. There's no need for them to continue with this pointless tail chasing." Kakashi sighed and nodded to another leaf shinobi who was waiting at the door, the nin saluting before taking off to inform the others. Kakashi turned to his escorts and gave them a forced eye smile as he waved them off.

"You guys can take a rain check, I'll be staying here with Hokage-sama for the foreseeable future." He said as the Kumo nin reluctantly nodded and turned to leave. Turning to stand behind where the Hokage was sitting, he was vaguely reminded of his days in the Anbu as he watched the older man rub his hand over his visibly tired face. He almost asked whether or not the man would like to get some rest, but knew better as there was no way the Hokage would be caught resting at a time like this, especially with them being in foreign territory. Konoha still had a reputation to uphold after all.

He looked over reactively as the Kazekage suddenly rose out of his seat, smoothing out his robes as he made his way over to the door. "If you would excuse me Hokage-dono, I have some matters I wish to discuss with my men. Please inform the Raikage of my whereabouts should he return."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding as the Kazekage left out of the room with a squadron of his own shinobi. His eyes turned back to the hustle and bustle of the other Kumo nin as they scrambled throughout the room trying to piece together whatever was going on within the village. His eyes were just barely starting to close when the door to the room burst open, another Kumo nin running in hurridley to the Hokage.

"A letter has arrived via hawk from your village Hokage-sama," The man said handing it over to Kakashi who inspected it quickly. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the black seal holding it together, signalling it was of an urgent matter. Handing it down to Hiruzen, he opened it carefully and read over it's contents quickly and silently. He immediately jumped out of his seat and burned the letter on the spot, turning his gaze over to Kakashi who was on full alert.

"Gather all of Konoha's personnel and inform them we are returning to the village at once. Find Jiraiya and Tsunade and tell them to meet with me immediately." He said signaling for his personal guard to summon around him. He made one more discrete signal with his hands, one that almost got a rouse out of the normal stoic Kakashi before his face turned deadly serious and he disappeared from the room. "Inform the Raikage of my immediate departure." Hiruzen stated to a Kumo shinobi as he quickly exited out of the room.

* * *

Things were moving quickly as all of the shinobi present from Konoha had suddenly been rounded up and told they were leaving back to the village. While there were initial protest, seeing the looks of seriousness on the older shinobi's faces put an end to any debating. It was no doubt happening because of the sudden disappearance of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, though for the past half hour it seemed as though something else was arising as well.

"What the hell is going around here, are we really not going to finish the Chunin exams?" Kiba asked as all of the Genin stood huddled up in the lobby of a hotel, awaiting further announcement. Choji shrugged his shoulders in response as he looked over at Shikamaru, for once not eating anything as the seriousness of the situation had even gotten to him. The Nara had for the most part silent ever since they had left the Chunin exams, staring off into space and barely responding when anyone attempt to conversate with him.

"It makes sense, I mean 5 Genin have gone missing without a trace. Especially seeing as two of them were…" Tenten started but trailed off as she noticed Ino tense up. Much like Shikamaru, she had been rather reserved as she learned that both Naruto and Sasuke had gone missing as well, and was currently comforting a still sniffling Sakura. Kiba let out a groan as he leaned up against the wall and slapped a hand over his face.

"Nothing about this makes sense, I mean people don't just disappear!" He exclaimed irritably. His words brought a hushed silence over the group as they hung in the air, a connecting thought running through the minds of all them. The thing is, people _did_ tend to disappear without a trace, as a matter of fact it wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence. Outside of said person becoming a missing-nin however, the only other options were usually being dead or captured and wishing you were dead. The Inuzuka immediately regretted his choice of words as this thought hit him and finally closed his mouth.

"I just hope Naruto and Sasuke are ok…" Tenten said looking down at the ground.

"They will be," Ino said quietly getting the others to look over at her. "They _have_ to be."

Meanwhile, Hiruzen had settled into a clearance outside of the village's walls as he awaited the arrival of his students. He was flanked by his personal guards, all talking discreetly amongst themselves about what was about to transpire. Sarutobi's eyes opened hazily as the presence of three others joined him. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade both landed in front of him, the latest being the first to speak up as she stepped forward with her arms folded across her chest.

"You'd better have a good reason for calling me out here, don't you have some missing Genin to be looking for?" She asked sharply as she stared down at him. The venom in her voice as she spoke about the disappearance of the two Genin didn't go unnoticed by Sarutobi, who closed his eyes again as he stood up from the rock he was sitting on.

"I assure you the reason I have called you out here is not one of a trifling matter," He said as Tsunade tapped her foot impatiently. Eyes opening, his gaze was cold and piercing, getting both of his former students to tense up as it had been awhile since they had seen their former teacher like this.

"Konoha has been attacked."

Jiraiya's mouth dropped open while Tsunade stared over at her former sensei with a look of disbelief present. Hiruzen motioned for his guards to come forward, who obediently complied and came to stand behind the leader.

"Time is of essence, as I fear Konoha has already been dealt a great deal of destruction while we were awaiting news of the attack to reach us. I plan to return to the village now, and I want you all to accompany me." Sarutobi said looking them over. Kakashi of course nodded to indicate that he would accompany him back, but Jiraiya and Tsunade had yet to react, with the former looking over at the blonde haired women curiously. Tsunade stared at the ground, her face unreadable as she no doubt contemplated about returning to the village.

"Tsunade," Sarutobi said lowly, getting her to look up at him. "I am well aware of your reasoning for not wanting to return the village, perhaps more so than anyone else. However, as of now there are more than likely hundreds of Konoha shinobi and civilians dead already and many more to follow the longer we wait to return. You staying within the village in the foreseeable future is something that can be debated in the future, but as of now I will only ask you one more time; will you return and help protect Konoha from its intruders?"

Tsunade stared at him with her mouth agape, still hesitating if only for a moment before her face stilled and a fist formed at her side. A single head nod was all that was needed as Sarutobi motioned for them to come stand by him. Huddling close, Jiraiya finally spoke out for the first time throughout this ordeal.

"So how do you plan on getting us back to Konoha in time to be of any use," he asked bluntly as Sarutobi motioned for his guards to circle around him.

"Where going to use a protocol setup by your very own student," He replied as his guards held each other hands in seals, forming a triangular circle around them. For a moment everything was still, until the very air around them began to shift ever so lightly.

In a small cackle of light, the group of S-rank shinobi disappeared.

* * *

Jinchuriki have been feared throughout the elemental nations ever since their original creation, and for good reason. The power a shinobi gained alone from simply holding a Biju in their body is immense, but if one learns to harvest and effectively control that power then they can become virtually a one man army, capable of wiping out entire platoons and even villages. The only thing more feared than a Jinchuriki itself, is the Biju that gives them that power.

It was with this thought in mind that Naruto stared up at the giant-and he meant _giant-_ tanuki that was seemingly made out of sand. He was complete frozen in place as never before had he saw a creature with such stature, nor with the amount of pure energy that the Biju was giving off. His stupor was only broken by the sound of coughing near him as he turned to see Sasuke, now clad in a series of black flame like marks sprawled across his body, pushed some debris he had been buried under off of him. Gaining some of his composure back, a tick mark formed on his head as he made his way over to the Uchiha.

"Oi, Sasuke! What the fuck, I leave for 10 minutes and you let the guy turn into a giant-" Naruto paused turning to look at the Shikaku one more time before facing back towards the boy. "I don't even know what _that_ is!"

"Excuse me, but I wasn't the one who got blown away and preoccupied with a girl that he should have been able to take out in 5 minutes tops!" Sasuke yelled back, showing a rare flare of emotion as he glared back at his companion.

"5 minutes? Have _you_ tried fighting miss wind princess over there? Cause let me tell you something mister, it's no walk in the park! Do you see these cuts on my body? They're in places that I don't even wanna' mention!"

"You should've dodged."

"You can kiss my ass."

The two continued their stare down for awhile longer before turning their attention over to a slither of movement out of the corner of their eye. It was Temari, pulling a still unconscious Kankuro along with her as she was going in the opposite direction of the Shukaku. "Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?!" Naruto yelled after her as she turned to face him.

"I'm getting the hell out of here, what do you think? Gaara has completely lost control, there's nothing that can stop him now," She replied turning around to leave. "If you were smart you would be doing the same."

"Trust me, I want too. But I've still got a village to protect." Naruto said turning to around to face the giant creature. It had finally started moving, shuffling slowly to the village which was luckily still a ways away from their current location. Naruto vaguely took notice of the fact that he was trembling, now that the bravado act between him and Sasuke wasn't there to distract him the gravity of situation had hit him fully.

He had to fight a Biju.

' _What the hell am I supposed to do against that thing?'_ He thought to himself as a trickle of sweat rolled down the side of his head. He tried to establish a connection with the Kyuubi, but it appeared as though he didn't want to be bothered at this moment as Naruto couldn't break through, and he didn't exactly want to fall into his mindscape at this moment without knowing when he'd come back too. Swearing, his mind quickly rattled off its options before something came to him, a small smirk coming upon his face as he bit his finger and performed a set of signs.

" **Summoning Technique!"**

A moderate sized poof of smoke rose from where he placed his hand, Sasuke watching with intrigued interest that turned into shock as he noticed the large black fox now standing in front of them. Naruto whistled as he took notice of who he summoned, grinning as he walked up to the summoning.

"Boku-san, it's been awhile! I don't remember you being this big the last time I met you." He remarked noticing how he was the same height of Naruto himself while still being on all four legs.

" **Naruto-san,"** He remarked, bowing down to the boy before rising back up to his full height. **"The form you witnessed me in during our initial meeting was my relaxed state. In combat, are stature can change accordingly to accommodate the needs, to a certain extent of course."** Taking notice of the giant Tanuki nearby, Boku eyed it wearily before turning back to his summoner. **"I take it you will be needing my services in battle this time around?"**

"Actually, I was wondering if you had any idea about how we can go about taking down this thing, or at the very least slow it down from reaching the village." Naruto said looking back up at the advancing Biju seriously. Boku stared up at the beast as well, silent for a moment before turning his green eyes back on Naruto.

" **From what I can tell, there is a seal still holding the Biju in place, albeit barely at the moment,"** Boku stated as Naruto's eyes grew at that bit of information.

"What? So you mean he's still under Gaara's seal? I thought he had released complete control over to his Biju…" Naruto mumbled looking back up at it curiously. "So, where the hell is Gaara at then?"

" **He is likely somewhere on the Shukaku's person, though I can't pinpoint his exact location."** Boku started as Naruto scratched his head in frustration.

"He's at the top." Sasuke said, getting Naruto to jump a little as he had actually forgot the Uchiha was there because of how quiet he was being. "I can faintly see a distinct chakra different from the rest of that... _thing_ sitting on the top of its head. It's pretty faint though…"

" **It is possible that the host has put himself in some form of a hibernative state, relinquishing control of his body over to the Biju in the process and letting him reign free,"** Boku hypothesized. **"It's a practice that has been documented with Jinchuriki before. I believe that if we were able to arouse the host, the Biju would be forced back into its seal."**

"So I've gotta' reach Gaara then," Naruto said nodding to himself determinedly. Looking over, he noticed that Sasuke had yet to risen from the ground, and was clutching at his left ankle. Noticing his stare, Sasuke traced his eyes to where he was looking and grunted irritably.

"Dislocated." He said lowly, looking away as Naruto grimaced in response.

"Well that just made things way harder…" Naruto said grabbing his chin in thought. Looking over at Boku, his eyes gained a small spark inside of them as something began to come together in his head. "Sasuke, how many explosive tags and bombs do you have on you right now?"

"I restocked before the final exam and haven't used any of them yet, so a good amount," He replied raising an eyebrow at the smirking blonde. "Why?"

"I have an idea that just might be crazy enough to work. Last question, do you think you can still pull off some jutsu's?" Naruto asked as Sasuke nodded hesitantly to show he could. "Alright, let's start putting things in motion then. First, I'm gonna' need you to give me all of the explosive stuff you've got on you."

"What are you planning?" Sasuke asked as he handed over the materials he had on him. Naruto took out what he had left as well, placing them all on the ground as he began to build his contraption.

"Well there's no way we're going to stop that Biju with our own strength, and I doubt that it's just going to let us waltz right up to Gaara and tell him to wake the hell up, so we're going to need something that can both immobilize it and hopefully wake Gaara's ass up at the same time." Naruto finished as he held the medium sized ball made from explosive tags and balls in his hand. "Basically, we're gonna' bomb that thing back to hell."

Sasuke frowned as he thought over the 'plan' Naruto had devised. It made sense in theory and he could see how a giant explosion would be an effective way to take down an enemy of that size, but there were still some holes in his idea. "Even an explosion of that magnitude would only be able to take off maybe one of that things legs, and that's a big maybe. Do you really think it'll be enough to stop that monster?"

"Oh it'll be enough alright," Naruto said as his grin grew wider, but somehow darker at the same time. "That's because we're aiming for his head." A silence fell over the area as Sasuke stared at the boy with his mouth agape, at a loss of words as Naruto seemed completely confident with everything that just came out of his mouth. Finally gaining back his ability to speak, he resisted the urge to grab at his nose as he replied to the boy.

"And how do you plan on reaching this said head?"

"Easy, Boku's gonna' take us there!" Naruto said patting the giant fox on the back. If Boku had any objections with what was said, he didn't show them as he simply stared down at Naruto with his ever monotonous attitude and look. "We'll ride up the back of its back, get as close to its head as possible and then chuck this bad boy right at it. Simple right?"

"Too simple," Sasuke mumbled shaking his head. "There's no way this is going to work."

"Oh come on Uchiha, if you have any better ideas I'd be glad to hear them." Naruto said, pausing for a moment as Sasuke stared at him humorlessly. "Right, then hop your ass up on Boku and lets get this show on the road. You're gonna' be providing me back up just in case we run into some trouble up there."

Sasuke begrudgingly allowed Naruto to help him get on top of Boku, holding on to the side as the Blonde jumped on in front of him with the makeshift bomb in his hand. "Everybody ready?" He asked, getting a nod from the two mentioned parties as his face took on a determined look as he stared forward. "Alright then, let's get this show on the road!"

With that, Boku took off trotting towards the giant Biju's location. They were either about to save Konoha or possibly die trying. Either option was fine with Naruto at the moment.

* * *

It didn't take long for the group to reach the Shukaku, circling around back until they were standing right behind its tail. It created a large rift in the land as it was dragged behind him, swaying lazily back and forth as the Biju continued his stride into Konoha. Naruto looked up to stare at the top of its head, clicking his teeth at just how high up they had to climb to reach the beasts head. Looking back at Sasuke one last time to insure he was ready, he gave Boku a quick rub on the head before the summon darted off forward.

With a giant leap, Boku hopped on to Shukaku's tail and began the journey to the top. For a while everything was fine as the trio were moving up without any hiccups, and at one point Naruto was beginning to think that this plan would workout without any problems at all. Just as this thought crossed his mind however, Boku's eyes narrowed and he leapt to the side as a spike of sand shot out from the tail.

" **I recommend that you two hold on more tightly, it appears things are about to become more active."** Boku said as the two shinobi obliged to his warning. Boku began to maneuver back and forth as the spike's continued shootout from the Shukaku's tail. Things only became worst as streams of sands began to chase after them, almost similar to hands as they reached out one after another trying to trip up Boku, who to his credit was handling it perfectly as he evaded every threat that came their way. Gritting his teeth as Boku picked up his speed a little, Naruto looked around and estimated that they were at least halfway up the Shukaku's back at the current moment.

' _Ok, things aren't too bad, we can handle this.'_ He thought to himself lifting his head up to peer in front of them. A ways ahead, multiple mounds of sand began to rise up, slowly taking on the form of Gaara himself as the clones held out their hands in their direction. Shuriken made of sand began to shootout at them, forcing Boku to slide to a stop and run horizontally as he evaded all the onslaught. "Sasuke, remember that backup I talked about? We could really use it right about now!" Naruto yelled out as things were beginning to head south fast. Using chakra to stick on to Boku, Sasuke was already finishing up hand seals before the blonde had even finished speaking.

" **Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"**

Aiming carefully with his sharingan active, Sasuke pinpointed the fireballs so that they crashed directly onto the sand clones. They dissolved immediately as the attacks landed, the shuriken barrage coming to a stop as Boku righted his path and continued his direct climb up to the Shukaku's head. Jumping into the air for a moment, Boku landed back down as he leaped over to the Shukaku's arm. A sudden rush of motion hit them as the Shukaku brought the arm up to his face, Boku sliding to a stop as they all stared directly into the Shukaku's piercing eyes.

" **What do we have here, an infestation?"** The chakra being asked tauntingly as Naruto took the time to examine the monster's head. Scanning quickly, he found what he was looking for as he spotted the top half of Gaara's body sticking out from its forehead, slumped over as the redhead was obviously unconscious at the moment. **"I've been calling out for you two's blood since I've laid eyes on you. It'll be quite the treat to take your lives myself, especially you,"** He continued as his eyes focused squarely on Naruto. **"How about you ask that giant furball inside of you can he still feel pain! It'll make this all the more joyful for me!"**

" **What an annoyance,"** Kurama mumbled from inside of Naruto's mindscape. **"All of this time passed and it appears that your intelligence is still virtually nonexistent. No wonder the need was felt to have you watched over by others…"**

" **Time to die!"** The Shukaku yelled as he lifted his arm higher into the air. Boku crouched down, preparing to maneuver out of the way as Naruto turned back to face Sasuke.

"I need you to spout the biggest fireball you can give me, and aim it directly for the center of his face." He said as the Uchiha looked at him emotionlessly. Just when he thought there was going to be some form of protest from the boy, he conceded as he began to prepare the technique. Placing the bomb in Sasuke's lap, Naruto quickly jumped up into the air as he prepared a jutsu of his own.

" **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"**

" **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"**

Sasuke's spurted out the giant ball of fire, the flame continuously growing in size as he pumped as much chakra as he could into the technique. Not long after, Naruto thrusted his hands forward as the large gust of wind made contact with the explosive ball of fire, causing it to implode within itself before it double out twice as large, becoming a large swirling storm of fire that rained down on the Shukaku's face. Landing back onto Boku, Naruto scooped up the bomb before motioning for Boku to run forward. "Top speed Boku, we don't have much longer!" The black fox obliged, running in a burst of speed to the hand of the Shukaku as he brought it up to his face to fan the flames in his eyes.

" **You damn vermin!"** The Shukaku yelled out as Boku finally reached the end of has hand, with them standing directly over the Shukaku's head. **"Let's see how you like this!"**

The Biju began to shake violently, taking in a deep breath as his belly expanded and his cheeks puffed out from the sides. Naruto's face became pale as he realized what exactly the technique was.

"Boku! Jump now! Jump now!"

The warning came just in time as the Shukaku slammed his other hand into his expanded stomach, launching a compressed bullet of air out of his mouth that quickly expelled all of the fire around his face and bursting through the hand that Naruto and Co. were previously occupying. Boku to his credit had leapt far enough into the air under such short notice that they were able to avoid the majority of the blast, but they were still pushed back by the force of the attack. Twirling in the air, Boku righted themselves in the air as Naruto just barely managed to hold on to the ball of explosive tags. In a matter of seconds, he was able to quickly analyze the current situation.

Was he still alive? For now.

Was Sasuke still alive? Again, for now.

Boku? Good as far as he knew.

The bomb? Accounted for.

Were they once again a hundred feet in the air with nothing underneath them to break their fall except the Earth itself? Yup.

Thinking on his feet, Naruto created a clone as he stood up on Boku's back, the clone grabbing Sasuke before he had a chance to react and flipping him off of Boku as the two began to fall back to the Earth. Looking down, Naruto sent a small smile the fox's way as the two began to fall themselves. "Thanks for the help Boku-san, but it looks like i'm going to have finish this death mission on my own."

He then proceeded to kick off from the summoning, launching himself further into the sky as Boku watched after his retreating form, closing his eyes silently before he dispelling as Naruto continued to soar higher. His ascent starting to slow up, Naruto tucked the bomb within his jacket as he quickly performed a familiar set of seals before thrusting his hands out in front of him as he turned around.

" **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"**

Using the gust of wind as a propeller, Naruto soared through the air as he turned to face the Shukaku, pulling the bomb out from underneath his jacket as he stared the Biju directly in his face. Cocking his hand back as the Shukaku opened his mouth to prepare another wind Bullet, Naruto steadied his aim as a determined glint formed within his eyes, maneuvering his body in the air so that he was standing upright as he prepared to release it.

"Take this you overgrown bastard!"

Launching the bomb forward, Naruto waited until it had fallen directly into the center of its mouth before forming a single seal. There was a slight delay, one that allowed Naruto to notice just how quiet it was so high up in the air outside of the whirring noise coming from the Shukaku as he continued to suck in air. It was comforting in a way as he had never expected to find such a sirene peacefulness as he was staring death in the face, even if it lasted only for a second.

The explosion was extravagant, as in a near instant the area once occupied by the Shukaku's head was now nothing more than a giant ball of fire and smoke as Naruto stared at it blankly, absently noting that it was much larger than he had expected it to be. His appreciation for the view was short lived as it didn't take long for the after effects to reach him as he brought his hands to protect himself from the shockwave of fire that knocked into him. The smoke encircled around him, ash and left over fire licking and burning at his skin as he was still being carried by the force of the explosion. His body was on fire, but that pain was minuscule in comparison to the searing pain he was feeling inside of his head.

Breaking out of the smoke cloud, Naruto glanced over to the side as he was able to just barely make out the form of something else falling along side with him. It didn't take long before he realized that it was Gaara, his face scrunched up obviously in pain as even from here Naruto could make out the burn marks on his body. In the background, the rest of the Shukaku's body crumbled and fell over into itself as it no longer had chakra coursing through the sand to keep it together. He was sure the spectacle was quite noisy, however the only sound he could hear was the persistent ringing caused by the explosion.

His gaze drifting from Gaara and the Shukaku to the sky above him, Naruto hazily mused about whether or not he and the other Jinchuriki perhaps could have been friends in another life. From what he could see Gaara had obviously had it rough growing up in his village, more so than Naruto if his attitude was anything to go off of. From his fellow sand shinobi to even his own father, Naruto noticed the cold stares and looks of fear the boy attracted, even from his own siblings to a lesser extent. It both comforted, yet furthered pained him as he came to the conclusion that this was likely the experience for a majority of those like him. Forever outcasts due to a burden that none of them chose in the first place.

Looking over again, he saw Temari swooping in with her fan and snatching Gaara out of the air, the smallest of smiles gracing his face as he witnessed the interaction. Gaara would be fine, he determined, for even he had people that cared for him. If there was one message he could have conveyed to him, it would have been that.

With that, his eyes closed as he finally gave out to the exhaustion that washed over him.

* * *

Sarutobi was greeted to quite the sight when he arrived on top of the Hokage monument alongside those that came with him. It wasn't just the poor state that his village was in; No, he had long ago prepared himself for that. The large explosion taking place in the air miles away from his village however was something that he wasn't expecting, and only served to increase his ire. Sending a small pulse of his chakra out, Sarutobi was immediately surrounded by 5 Anbu, all of whom kneeled at his side as he stared out over the warring village emotionlessly. "Report."

"Yes Hokage-sama," A presumably female Anbu member in a cat like mask answered standing up. "It's a joint surprise attack by Sunagakure and Otogakure. Numbers unknown, though a rough estimate from the start of the attack would presumably by around 4,000 to 5,000 with less than half remaining currently. Structural damage has been high, though efforts to push them out from within the inner village have been successful so far."

"What about casualties?" Jiraiya asked stepping up next to Sarutobi. The Anbu regarded him and the others for a moment before continuing.

"Civilian wise there is an estimated total of 8,000 deaths, though we believe it could likely reach as high as 12,000 when fully accounted for. Shinobi wise, it's around 800, though deaths on both of those ends have significantly dropped off since the beginning of the invasion."

"That's 8% of the population gone in one attack…" Jiraiya mumbled to himself as Sarutobi listened quietly. He then started to take of his robes and hat, passing them over to one of the Anbu guards before turning to address the other shinobi present.

"Jiraiya, Kakashi, I want you two to head out to the front lines and help push the enemy completely out of the village. Damage to the village is an afterthought at this moment, use whatever means you deem necessary to see that this is done." He said, with Kakashi nodding and immediately disappearing from his spot. Jiraiya lingered for a little while longer, staring at his sensei analytically before doing the same.

"Where have you stationed your medical shinobi?" Tsunade asked as the Anbu turned to face her this time.

"They have been stationed in various medical centers throughout the village per regular protocol. The nearest one is just outside of the Hokage's compound," The Anbu answered as Tsunade turned towards Sarutobi.

"I'll be forming a makeshift squad to patrol the village with me and provide medical backup on the move." She stated before motiong for one of the Anbu to take her to the medical station. After a quick signal from the Hokage, one of the members stood up to do so, with Tsunade stopping one last time to look back at the Hokage. "Listen...don't overexert yourself. I'd honestly prefer if you didn't partake in any fighting at all, but I know you wont allow that to happen seeing as you're the Hokage. Just be mindful that you aren't in perfect health."

"Don't worry about me Tsunade-hime, I don't plan on taking on more than I can handle." Sarutobi replied as Tsunade allowed her eyes to linger on him for a little longer before taking off after the Anbu. The small smile Sarutobi held on his face dropped as soon as Tsunade was out of sight as he turned to face his remaining forces. "I want you to scout throughout the inner area of the village and insure that all enemy forces have been disposed off. Focus your attention on helping them push out the remaining forces when you are finished. Relay this to all of our shinobi; we are taking _no_ prisoners."

The forces immediately dismissed themselves to complete their designated task, with the Anbu captain being the only one who stayed behind per signals from Sarutobi. "Have you investigated the cause of the explosion a few miles out from the village?"

"While we haven't received word back yet regarding the explosion, there was a platoon of Anbu sent out earlier to investigate the matter of a potential loose Biju. I believe the two matters are closely related since the proximity they took place in are the same."

"A loose Biju you say?" Sarutobi asked curiously as the Anbu nodded in response.

"Based on our intelligence, we believe it was the one-tailed Shukaku, Sunagakure's Biju." The guard stated, Sarutobi's eyes showing the slightest sparkle of interest within them as he began to piece things together.

"Keep me updated on the affairs regarding that situation." The Hokage said as the Anbu nodded and disappeared from view. Biting his finger, Sarutobi blurred through hand signs before dropping his hand on the ground, a cloud of smoke appearing as a shadowed figure stood within. Smoke clearing, the monkey king Enma peered down at Sarutobi, who smiled wearily up at his old friend as he rose back up to his full height. "It's been a long time my friend."

" **Not long enough if you ask me…"** Enma said looking around at the destroyed village. **"It appears they got us good this time around."**

"Indeed, but they have still yet to break us," Sarutobi said as he held out his hand to his side. "And now it is time for us to put an end to this tragedy."

Nothing else needing to be explained, Enma transformed himself into a staff as Sarutobi grabbed him from out of the air and gave him a practice twirl. He gave one last look over the warring village before disappearing, the slight breeze and falling of a single leaf being the only sign that he was ever there in the first place.

* * *

The invasion for the most part ended fairly quickly after the arrival of the new reinforcements. News of the unexpected return of the Hokage, as well as two of the legendary sannin, spread quickly throughout the village and gave the leaf shinobi a renewed vigor as they fought with more passion and heart knowing their leader had return. It also sparked fear in the hearts of the sand shinobi, who were under the presumption that they wouldn't have had to deal with the Hokage, let alone two of the other most powerful shinobi in the history of mankind.

It wasn't long after that the sound shinobi abruptly began to retreat, clearing out of the village in a rushed mannered and leaving the unexpecting sand shinobi to fend for themselves. All in all, it was perhaps less than 15 minutes after their arrival that a full on retreat was in place as the village was being vacated by the enemy shinobi. Squadrons of medical shinobi began to pool out into the village, providing mobile assistance under the command of Tsunade who had essentially taken reign over all of their operations. Anbu and general shinobi patrols were running far and wide throughout both the village and its outskirts, insuring that the all the enemy shinobi were gone and those who were still there were nothing more but corpses.

The Hokage Tower was surprisingly mostly left unharmed outside of a little damage to it's left wing, and was currently where the Hokage was residing roughly 3 hours after the invasion end, listening to reports of the village's status after the attack.

"Right now we have an official casualty account of 9,756 civilians, with most of them occurring in the northern and western quartering areas. Injury wise we're still dealing with estimates, but the range is somewhere between 2,000 to 3,500. Shinobi wise, we're looking at a confirmed 1,016 deaths and estimate of over 400 injured, half of which are potentially fatal. Medical centers are at full capacity and all capable medic nins have been deployed." A female kunoichi from the medical division finished reporting as the The Hokage listened with his hands folded over his face.

"Matching up with those reports, most of the structural damage took place within the northern and western ends of the village, specifically civilian based areas," A brown haired shinobi stated walking and placing a file on the Hokage's desk. Sarutobi opened it, glancing through its contents as the man continued to speak. "In terms of cost, full estimates likely won't be in until sometime tomorrow, but even from what we've gathered already…" The man trailed off as the Hokage placed the file back down on the desk.

"Is there anything else to report?" He asked looking over the group of shinobi in his office. Noting there silence, Sarutobi motioned for them to leave as he brought his hands back up to rest on his face. They quickly filed out of his office, closing the door behind them as he let out a loud sigh and rubbed his forehead. Shikaku Nara, who was listening quietly from the Hokage's side, moved to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, allowing the older man the few moments of rest he looked as though he needed before speaking.

"We're dealing with a potential 10% civilian death toll and 16% of the shinobi who were stationed within the village, both of which are definite to increase in the coming hours. And those are actually the least of our worries…"

"Have you gotten in touch with those back in Kumogakure?" Sarutobi asked as Shikaku sat up a little more straight.

"We have, and they've already left out to return to the village. Also regarding the Kazekage," Shikaku said, his eyes narrowing a little as Sarutobi leaned in closer. "There has been no sighting of him within or around Kumo at all. It's almost as if he's disappeared from the face of the Earth entirely. He must of left out of the village prematurely and had a stand in stationed there for him."

"That is a matter that can be discussed at a later time, if only because it can't be handled until then either. Our focus right now is the rebuilding of our village's strength and status." Sarutobi said as he stood up from his desk. "I want you to focus on planning defensive schemes and putting them into place to cover for our vulnerabilities. I'll also be delegating some of the Anbu's mission to go through your department. Learn all you can about the details leading up to and surrounding the attack on our village. If you discover anything of pressing matters, bring it up to me directly."

"Hokage-sama," Shukaku said standing up and following the elder man to the door. "Anything else?"

"I'll be out dealing with matters within the Anbu for a moment, so I'll be directing all diplomatic issues within the village to your personal for a few hours. The announcing of the council meeting shall take place after I return." Sarutobi said as the two entered the hallway. Shikaku nodded in response, turning to leave as Sarutobi went in the opposite direction.

He traversed into the lower area of the Hokage's tower, maneuvering through a series of hallways and entrances until he was walking down a single dimly lit pathway. Standing at the entrance of a door was an Anbu guard, who swiftly moved to open the door as Sarutobi came to stand in front of him. Walking inside, Sarutobi walked through the Anbu's headquarters, heading directly into their medical ward as he was greeted by one of the staff members.

"Hokage-sama," She said acknowledging his presence. She was young, no older than the age of 25 with long silver hair that flowed freely down her backside. Her red eyes stood out strongly against her pale skin and only further emphasized her youthful status as they shone vibrantly. "I take it you're here to check on the status of the shinobi we recovered?"

"Akira-san! We're out of bandages!"

"Then go and grab some more!" The young women yelled into a back room before turning to smile back at Sarutobi. "I'm sorry about that Hokage-sama, things are a little hectic around here currently and we had to pull down some outside forces to help out."

"That is quite alright," Sarutobi said with a small smile as Akira led him through the medical ward. Traveling almost to the end of the division, the two finally stopped in front of a door that was being overwatched by an Anbu. He opened the door as the two came near, allowing them to enter before closing it quickly once they had. Stepping further into the room, Sarutobi peered down the person occupying the bed. "What are the extent of injuries?"

"Well, he's suffering from some pretty serious burn marks covering his body, no doubt linking his involvement to the explosion that took place over the village," Akira started looking over his medical board. "His body was covered in a series of deep gashes, cause unknown. He has a few broken ribs, though nowhere near as bad as it could've been had the Anbu unit not prevented him from slamming into the ground. Chakra levels are normal, and trace amounts of the Kyuubi's can be found circling throughout his system. Amazingly enough, he's already healing from most of the serious injuries and is in a much better state now compared to when he was in brought in 3 hours ago."

"Can you determine when he will awaken?" Sarutobi asked as Akira hummed in thought.

"Usually yes, but because of the special circumstances surrounding him we can't be for sure. Typically someone with injuries like these would be out for at least a day or two, if not facing a possible coma situation, but he could very well be at least conscious in a few hours. Of course, it's also possible that the Kyuubi's chakra could have the exact opposite influence and cause him to stay under for longer than usual as it runs it course, as while it's aiding in terms of structural healing, we're noticing a reactive draining action on his regular chakra source. Basically, the Kyuubi's chakra is replacing his own, and when it leaves there could possibly be a drawback effect."

"I see…" Sarutobi mumbled looking down at the sleeping boy's form in thought. Releasing a sigh, he straightened out his robes and turned to leave out of the room. "Keep me updated on his status and alert me the moment of which he awakens."

"Yes Hokage-sama!" Akira saluted as the man left out of the room. Making his way back out of the medical ward, Sarutobi straightened his hat out and looked up with a stoney expression on his face as the Anbu officers on duty bustled around him. The coming days would no doubt be a trying time, one that he had hoped wouldn't come before he had the chance to retire officially. Holding back another sigh, he steeled his nerves as he prepared to head to his meeting with Homura and Koharu.

He absentmindedly noted the slight pain he felt in his chest as he exited out of the Anbu's headquarters.

* * *

 **The previous chapter, this one, and the one coming up are basically just direct continuations of each other. The Chunin exams and small bit of the invasion arc were more of a drag to write than I thought they would be, I'm honestly glad to be done with it and to be able to take the story in another direction. Hope you guys enjoyed.**

 **Also for any of you following this in real time, this was deleted and reuploaded because of an error. Sorry about that.**


	20. A New Calling

**Chapter 20: A New Calling**

* * *

A little over a day had passed since the invasion of Konoha and the village was very hectic with the acts of rebuilding. Construction workers barked out orders and lumbered around material in the early hours of the morning. Makeshift shops of ruined stores lined up the streets as markets attempted to continue business and people scavaged the ruins of buildings in search of valuables and assets. Perhaps the most noticeable change was the increased visible presence of shinobi, with squadrons routinely running around the villages in routes looking out for any signs of danger or attacks.

This was the sight Sarutobi observed as he stared out over the village from inside of his office. A puff of smoke escaped his lips as the tobacco filled pipe hung loosely from his mouth, no doubt place there out of automated habit rather than an actual desire. The past night had been filled with meetings and discussions with various prominent members of the village, all centered around what had transpired and what would follow the attack. It had easily been over 48 hours since the last time he had gotten any rest, and while he would like to think that he was holding it together fine, he knew in his old age that the lack of sleep was taking a toll on him. Whether he chose to acknowledge it or not was another thought entirely.

The sound of his secretary attempting to dissuade someone from entering his office alerted him that his small time of peace was up, closing his eyes as he already knew who was approaching by the ruckus. Throwing the door open, Tsunade walked into the room with a rather miffed looking women standing behind her. Glancing back, the sanin scoffed before using her foot to close the door in the woman's face, a small smirk gracing her lips as she heard her cry out in surprise. Turning forward, her face returned into it's seemingly permanent scowl as she watched the Hokage's back form. A moment of silence passed over them before Sarutobi spoke, still not turning away from the window.

"May I help you, Tsunade-hime?"

"I came in to personally give you the updated medical report for the village," She said walking up to his desk, pick up a random folder and glancing it over before dropping it back down. "The civilian count has topped out at 10,002 deaths. Injuries are still within the 1,500 to 2,000 range but they've all been dropped to non-lethal levels so the number won't be increasing unless there are still bodies out there unaccounted for."

"And the shinobi force?" Sarutobi asked still not looking away from the window.

"1,105 deaths. Some fatal injuries are still in question though, but the likelihood of that number increasing too much isn't that high either," She remarked, the air of professionalism lifting off of her as she let out a sigh. "It's bad. But in all honesty…"

"It could have been much worse." Sarutobi said finally turning around to face his student. "It's a thought that has managed to comfort me little during these times, ass barbaric as it may be. How is Sasuke doing?"

"He had a broken ankle, though we were able to heal that up without much trouble. Severe chakra exhaustion though, no doubt from overuse of the sharingan. I probably could have fixed the ankle but I didn't look at him myself, besides he could use the rest it'll bring anyways," Tsunade said biting her lip a little. "How about him?"

"You're welcome to take a look at him if you would like, but from the latest update I received he's doing fine. It has now just become a matter of when will he awaken." Sarutobi answered as a quick breeze shot throughout the room. Tsunade's eyes flickering over to the window, dimming a little as Jiraiya hobbled through it, dusting himself off before looking over the two and flashing them a grin.

"Well it's been a pretty shitty 24 hours now hasn't it?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at his statement while Sarutobi shook his head at the antics of his student. Faking a sad face from the lack verbal response, Jiraiya moved over to stand next to Tsunade, who instinctively took a step away from him when he came to a stop. Releasing another puff of smoke, Sarutobi sat down in his chair slowly, leaning back and gazing over at the white haired man with half lidded eyes. "Well? Have you managed to learn anything on what I asked you about?"

"I did," Jiraiya started before looking over at Tsunade. "Though I'm not sure it's something we should discuss with someone who isn't in need of immediate knowledge. You know, village secrets and all."

Tsunade huffed in response, pulling out a chair and taking a seat in it as she folded her legs to signify she wasn't leaving. Jiraiya looked over Sarutobi, who brushed it off and motioned for him to continue.

"Well if you're alright with it…" Jiraiya said taking the other seat and sitting down as well. "Ok, so I'll start with the bad, move on to the really bad, then finish it up with _really_ really bad, ok?"

Hiruzen's eye twitched at the noticeable lack of 'good' in there but nodded nonetheless.

"Alright, well starting with Sunagakure. I figured it was rather weird for them to attack us out of the blue like this seeing as they were the one powerhouse village we had a mostly positive relationship with. I thought it was sketchy, and it turned out I was correct," Jiraiya said leaning forward, the lackadaisical attitude disappearing as he became serious. "Remember how we initial thought their forces pulled back because of our arrival? Well, that may not have been entirely the case.

"I sensed their hasten retreat seemed to be because of something else rather than us," Sarutobi said sitting up a little more. "Do you know of it's exact reason?" Jiraiya stayed quiet, and Tsunade looked between the two impatiently as it seemed like the conversation had been cut short. She was about to speak up when Jiraiya beat her to the punch.

"The Kazekage is dead."

The room became deadly quiet again as Tsunade and Sarutobi both stared over at Jiraiya in shock. "And I'm not talking freshly dead, I mean dead as in he's been gone for quite sometime, at least to my knowledge."

"And the people of Sunagakure were unaware of this?" Tsunade asked as Jiraiya nodded his head to confirm her thoughts. "But how? And who was it that we saw during the chunin exams?"

"That leads me into the really bad news," Jiraiya said as he released a building a sigh. "It was Orochimaru." Tsunade's eyes narrowed while Sarutobi stiffened, his breath hitching as Jiraiya gazed at him emotionlessly.

"Orochimaru…" Sarutobi mumbled reaching up and grabbing at his beard in thought. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"Has my information ever been wrong before? The poison that was found inside the Kazekage's dead body is similar to the strains we have here in Konoha related to his earlier works, and wouldn't that explain Otogakure's heavy involvement in this? Besides, it's not that many people out in the world who are capable of killing a Kage, let alone that one in particular." Jiraiya finished as Sarutobi leaned back in his chair again, shielding his eyes with his hands.

Orochimaru was perhaps his biggest mistake in life, if you only asked him of course. He had long ago banished the thoughts of how he could have done more in the past for his former student; what was done was done and the things that had already transpired could never be fixed. However, his one solace was that Orochimaru had up to this point never did anything too outlandish. Sure some children tended to go missing sometimes without a trace, and to a lesser extent adults as well, but those were things that could be overlooked as cold hearted as it sounded. He couldn't afford to place too much weight on Orochimaru if it wasn't really warranted, which up to this point it hadn't been. It was enough to just keep a close, yet distant eye on him.

However with this new update things had changed drastically. Orochimaru had killed a Kage, and if that wasn't bad enough, proceeded to stage as said Kage and attack another powerhouse village. His actions easily could, and in all honesty still can, start a war between the elemental villages. A war that he wasn't proud to admit might result in a loss for Konoha.

' _Orochimaru will have to be dealt with.'_ He concluded solemnly. He was no longer a factor that could be ignored, for both personal and diplomatic reasons.

"And finally, the _really_ really bad news. The part that I wasn't sure you wanted certain outside ears hearing, but I'll trust your judgement," Jiraiya started as Tsunade ignored his slight. "Remember what we talked about the last time I was in the village? A couple years back?"

"You mean the potential assembling of a group of powerful S-rank missing nin that you had intelligence on?" Sarutobi questioned vividly remembering the discussion. Although Jiraiya was adamant at the time that it wasn't a for sure thing and just a rumor he was hearing through the grapevine, the idea of such a group existing was enough for him to be at least somewhat concerned about it.

"Yup, that very one. So, remember how I told you that it was just a rumor and not to be overly concerned with it? Well, turns out it was more than just a rumor. They're very real, but they're keeping a low profile. Scarcely seen and even when they are, it's only for a moment to do some business. So far their members identities and even numbers are unknown, but from the things I've heard they accomplished, it's safe to say that they've got some extraordinary people on their side."

"So how does this relate to the attack?" Tsunade interrupted not seeing how the two were connecting.

"There were sightings of individuals matching their descriptions in the area. Not only that, but there's only one way to explain how those 5 shinobi ended up in an entirely different village in the manner of minutes, and you have to be pretty fucking impressive to pull it off…"

"The use of space-time ninjutsu," Sarutobi finished for him seeing where he was going with his deductions. "So you believe that perhaps at least one of these members have access to space-time ninjutsu, and that Orochimaru was working with them to execute this plan."

"You've got it old man, and for the record, they go by the name Akatsuki. Now while there involvement with the invasion is still speculation at this point, there is one thing I know for sure about them, and it's what make this situation _really_ really bad." Jiraiya stated, pausing for added effect. "They're main goal is the gathering of all nine Biju. What they plan to do after that is still unknown, but at the very least it's for certain that that's what their currently focused on. That helps explains why they were in the village and probably took part in this little fiasco, there were a large amount of Jinchuriki gathered in one area and it would be the perfect opportunity to see not only their power, but the level of their protection as well."

"I see. And if your theory that they were involved with the disappearance of Naruto and Sasuke is true then that means if they truly wanted him at that moment, they easily could have done so. Either that wasn't their plan from the start, or this particular member was acting of his own accord for some reason..." Sarutobi mumbled, his anger not at all hidden within his voice. Jiraiya nodded to show that he was following the same thought process while Tsunade sat quietly in thought.

"Naruto...Uzumaki...Naruto Uzumaki…" She mumbled to herself before her eyes shot over to the picture of the former Hokage's in the room. Lingering on the fourth's for a moment, Tsunade gasped lowly as she snapped her fingers in recognition. "Now I remember that name, you mean to tell me that's Kushina's and Minato's brat?"

"Hey, you've finally caught up!" Jiraiya exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. Tsunade slapped him playfully on the shoulder in response, which still took all of Jiraiya's willpower to not scream out in pain as he rubbed the area. "Honestly, I thought you knew that bit of information already."

"So to summarize, we have a group of S-rank missing nin banding together whose sole purpose is to capture the nine Biju's for likely an even grander scheme, and what's more they've already potentially made contact with Naruto without us even knowing. Not to mention a potential partnership present between them and Orochimaru," Sarutobi said exasperatedly looking over to Jiraiya. "Is there anything else that I missed?"

"Nope, that just about covers it," Jiraiya said scratching at the back of his head as Sarutobi let out a sigh.

"Well it appears I have much more work to do than I first thought. Tsunade-hime, on second thought I believe it would beneficial if you yourself were to take a look over Naruto's recovery. I fear we no longer have time to waste on his development as it seems every moment from here on out is of importance." Sarutobi said as Tsunade's face scrunched up, not exactly liking the tone carried in his voice.

"And what exactly are you insinuating by that?" She asked as the man reached into his drawer, pulling out a file from his desk before standing up from his chair.

"What I mean is that before now Naruto's development as a person was giving sovereignty over his abilities as a shinobi. That can no longer be the case," He said making his way over to the door of his office. "For the insurance of his future, he must become stronger. And it has to begin now." With that, he opened the door to his office and left out, motioning for his Anbu guards stationed around him to move out as well. That's right, the need for Naruto to become stronger was at an all time high.

Not only for his sake, but for the sake of the village as well.

* * *

Shikaku stared down at the contents inside of the folder he was handed intently, eyes racing over the information as he went from one piece of paper to another. Reaching the last one, he closed the folder and placed it down on his desk, looking up at the Hokage with a raised eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure about this?I understand the desire to strengthen our workforce after an attack like that, and while I don't have a problem with some of these promotions at all, at the very least we could wait until both they and their sensei's return to get their say in the matter. And about this one in particular…"

"The fact that they were nominated in the first place shows that their instructors had the belief in them that they were capable of becoming chunin. I do not believe there is any need for more reassurance than that." Sarutobi said quietly as Shikaku stared across at him. It wasn't a true statement, as instructors often put their genin in the tournament with no hopes of them actually being promoted, but to instead simply gain experience. Shikaku however wasn't going to speak on that matter as he could tell from the moment the Hokage came into the office that these weren't going to be negotiable. "As for the one outlier present, I believe it is a necessary cause for the future of our village. We no longer have the luxury of time and security on our hands; as a result, some drastic measures must be taken."

Shikaku stared over the files one more time, a low rumbling noise arising from his throat as he flipped through the papers. Sighing, he reached over and grabbed a stamp, stamping over all but one of the papers as they already held the Hokage's stamp of approval over them.

"Alright then, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha have all been promoted to the rank of chunin. As for the other one, I'll be sure the update the shinobi records as soon as possible." shikaku said sliding the file back over to Sarutobi save for one. Picking it up, the Hokage looked down at it with glossy eyes before looking back over at Shikaku.

"If there are any objections, you're welcome to bring them up now you know."

"You're the Hokage, even with me being you adviser I know more than anyone that if there's a matter you want put in place then there's nothing that can be done about it," Shikaku said waving him off. "Besides, I can't say I necessarily disagree with anything you're proposing. It's all just happening a little sudden."

"In these type of times, suddenness is to be expected. Reacting to slow or being stagnant in your ideals can be the difference between a successful rebuild or a complete collapse." Sarutobi stated wisely as he turned to exit out of Shikaku's office. The pineapple haired man watched him leave, rubbing at his brow in thought as he looked down at the paper in front of him tiredly.

"Troublesome…" He mumbled as he reached over to grab another stamp, quickly slamming it down on the paper before placing it on top of another pile. Grabbing them all together and slamming them down on the table to the make the pile neater, he read over the content's of the one on top one more time before getting up to his leave his office, not batting an eye even as the words he saw continued to play over and over within his mind.

 _Naruto Uzumaki_

 _Status: K.I.A._

* * *

"The last time we checked on him, all of his vitals were stable and it looked as though he was in perfect health. We're still unsure of what it is that's keeping him under, but at the very least it's not something detrimental to his health. We think." Akira finished up with uncertainty as she escorted Tsunade over to Naruto's room. Tsunade listened silently, trying to use her prior medical knowledge to determine what could be wrong with the boy beforehand.

' _The only thing I can possibly think of is it being some type of advance genjutsu, but we should still be able to determine whether or not he's under one regardless of how advance it is. Not only that, but from the situation he was coming from it's unlikely that any form of genjutsu was even involved.'_ She thought to herself as Akira opened the door to his room. Blue eyes met Amber as Naruto stared over at Tsunade from his sitting position, both speechless as Akira walked in after her and let out a yelp.

"Y-you're awake! Since when have you been-hey!" She turned yelling towards the Anbu guard who was stationed outside his door. "I thought I told you to inform me right away whenever he had awakened!"

"I didn't know he was up! Just 5 minutes ago I looked in there and he was still bringing in the ships!" The Anbu guard yelled back as Akira snorted in response. Tsunade meanwhile had walked over to the person in question, her glowing green hands running over his body quickly as he stared down at them in confusion.

"Tsunade-sama?" He asked looking around the room tiredly. His voice was barely more than a whisper, no doubt rasped from the lack of use and direct water. "Where am I?"

"You're in a medical ward brat," Tsunade said finishing up with what she was doing. "How do you feel?"

"Drowsy," Naruto replied reaching up to grab at his head. His eyes shot back open after a minute however as he turned over to Tsunade hurriedly. "W-wait, the village! And that giant Tanuki beast! What happened, how long have I been out, what happened to-"

"Be quiet for a moment brat!" Tsunade yelled getting the boy to jump in his spot on the bed. Taking a deep breathe, Tsunade calmed herself down as well before regarding him again. "The village is fine, or at least it survived the invasion. We're about a day removed from the whole thing anyways-"

"A day? You're telling me I've been out for day?" Naruto asked in disbelief as Tsunade nodded in response. "Well what happened?"

"More than I care to explain. Anyways seeing as I can confirm you're fine now…" Tsunade mumbled before sinking her fist into the top of his head, Naruto yelling out in pain as he reached up to clutch the area. "That's for deciding to run off and take on a Biju on your own you idiot!"

"What the hell did you hit me for you old hag!" Naruto yelled back though his voice was still breaking from being hoarse. "What was I supposed to do, just let it run wild towards the village? It's my job to protect it!"

"It's your job to stay _alive!_ " Tsunade hissed back sticking her finger into his face. "From what I've heard you barely managed to make it out of that ordeal, and that plan of yours was completely irresponsible! What if something had went wrong while you were flying up there acting like a human kamikaze?"

"Well obviously it didn't seeing as I'm still sitting her breathing so why does it matter? Everything worked out fine!" Naruto yelled crossing his arms over his chest. Tsunade gritted her teeth in the boy's direction, looking as though she was preparing to setup another strike but was stopped however by the sound of Akira clearing her throat.

"Um, Hokage-sama has requested to speak with you as soon as you were backup, so he'll be coming by shortly." She said before turning to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, and I hope I'm not stepping out of line of here, but could you please refrain from striking him on the head anymore. He is still under my jurisdiction after all, any harm that comes to him reflects poorly on me."

"The old man is here?" Naruto asked curiously. Just as he spoke, the door opened and Sarutobi strolled into the room, followed by the Anbu who had been previously standing outside the door.

"That was quick," Akira replied as the Hokage regarded her with a small smile.

"I was actually on my way here already to see what Tsunade-hime had to say about Naruto-kun's condition myself. I'm glad to see that you are alright," He said looking at Naruto, who grinned back at him while rubbing his head sheepishly. "However, there are some matters that I must discuss with Naruto-kun alone at the moment."

Akira and the Anbu instantly straightened up, turning to exit out of the room while Tsunade stayed put. She eyed Sarutobi with a steady gaze, one that was returned unflinchingly as Naruto looked between the two curiously. Tsunade then turned to look back at Naruto one last time, with him immediately noting the sad feeling he was getting from her before she got up to leave. She stopped on the side of Sarutobi, whispering something inaudible from Naruto's ears before continuing out of the room. As the door closed, Sarutobi let out a sigh as he sat down in the chair next to Naruto's hospital bed.

"Naruto," Sarutobi started as the boy sat up a little more straight noting the seriousness in his voice. "What can you tell me of your memories before you were...transported back to the village?"

"Well, me and Sasuke had left out to find the bathroom when we stumbled upon…" He started grabbing at his head as he tried to remember everything vividly. "It was the team from Suna. They were talking with some masked man in the lower area of the arena, ducked away from any activity. He performed some short of Jutsu, I think, and they disappeared from the spot. After that, we tried to get away but he was suddenly right there in front of us, and I think he did the exact same thing to us. After that everything went blank and the next thing I knew we were falling from the sky back here in Konoha."

"I see. Well you and Sasuke-kun's account of what happened certainly match up," Sarutobi said in a thoughtful manner. "And this masked man, can you remember anything at all about him that could be helpful in identifying who he is?"

"Not really, the mask covered all of his face except his right eye and he was wearing a big gray cloak so his body was pretty covered as well. His height was pretty average if I had to say so and he was pretty slim from what I could tell but other than that…" Naruto trialed off, grabbing at his chin in thought before his eyes grew wide. "Wait! There was one more thing I remember just before everything went black! Though I can't really believe it myself,"

"What is it?" Sarutobi asked intently. Hell, at this point virtually anything was worth building upon seeing as they really had nothing.

"Well it was his eye, the one that was visible. It was only for a moment but...but I think that he somehow had the sharingan." Naruto answered as Sarutobi's face lit up in shock. It was the most emotion the boy had seen him show throughout this entire conversation as the older man straightened up in his seat.

"The sharingan? Are you absolutely sure?" Sarutobi asked as Naruto nodded his head to confirm what he said.

"The thing about it though is…" Naruto started but fell silent again. Noticing Sarutobi was still listening, he quickly began to wave his hands in front of his face as he shook his. "N-nevermind, it's nothing. But yeah, I definitely remember seeing the sharingan. You wouldn't forget seeing those eyes, even if I was a little delirious then."

"Well if what you say is true, then this puts everything into a much different perspective…" Sarutobi mumbled to himself as he stared at the ground in thought. He noticed Naruto's slightly dejected look however and quickly flashed a small, warm smile in his direction and leaned over and put his hand on top of the boy's. "That look of worry is uncharacteristic on you Naruto-kun, you should feel extremely proud of what you have accomplished. We've heard of your efforts in protecting the village, and because you a great deal of lives were saved, more than even you can fathom."

"So what happened exactly? After I passed out I mean." Naruto asked as Sarutobi shuffled to get more comfortable in his seat.

"It wasn't long after your subduing of Suna's Jinchuriki that I and the others arrived within the village to provide backup. The battle didn't last much longer after that." Sarutobi said as Naruto's head cocked to the side.

"And the village?"

"Damaged and grieving, but nothing that time cannot heal," Sarutobi said as he began to stand up. "And it's time that I return to helping with that healing process. We will talk again soon Naruto-kun."

"Wait, so when can I leave this place old man?" Naruto called after him as Sarutobi paused at the door. He turned to look at the blonde out of the corner of his eye as the door opened from the outside.

"You will be monitored here for a little while longer just to make sure you're one hundred percent, after which you will be released." Sarutobi replied, Naruto nodding hesitantly as he watcged the Hokage left out of the room. As the door closed, Naruto's face fell into a frown as he stared down at his fist and flexed them.

Something was wrong, that much he knew for sure. The feeling he was getting from Sarutobi was one that he hadn't felt from the man since he was younger, back when he would frequently ask the man about his parentage and family. Just like then, there was just something off in the air, and unlike the past Naruto was more experienced now to know when someone was hiding something. Sighing, he laid back down in the bed and looked up to the ceiling. He wanted to dwell on the thought for a little while longer, but something else was taking overriding his thoughts.

' _What the hell is there to eat around here?'_

* * *

The next morning arrived quickly and saw the return of the Konoha shinobi who were stationed out in Kumogakure for the chunin exams. While most of the older Jonin were able to hold their emotions together for the most part upon seeing the state of the village, the younger genin all expressed varying degrees of shock and horror at the sight they were greeted too. They had little time to relish in their emotions however as they were all summoned to meet by the Hokage not even an hour after their return.

Inside of the room they were waiting in, Ino played absentmindedly with the hair hanging from her bang, trying her hardest to block out the sniffles coming from Hinata as she finally had stopped crying from the news of Naruto and Sasuke's disappearance. Her reaction was bringing back up all of the emotions many of them had tried to ignore during their trip back to Konoha, bringing the overall mood of the group back down.

"What do you think they called us here for?" She asked Shikamaru as he leaned against the wall next to her, hoping that the conversation would help distract her. Shikamaru shrugged at her question as he slowly slid down to sit on the floor, propping his face up in his arms as he stared forward aimlessly.

"More than likely it's to give us instructions on what we'll be doing during the rebuilding of the village. Even if we're genins, with the state of the village currently I bet they need all of the man power that they can muster. Things are going to be pretty hectic from here on out." Shikamaru answered as Ino listened silently. The sound of the door pulled their attention away from each other as everyone looked to see who it was. Shikaku walked into the room first, followed by Kakashi who gave everyone an eye smile and wave as he went to stand next to the other Jonin.

"Looks like everyone is accounted for, you can start us off can't you Nara?" Kakashi said looking over at Shikaku. The scar faced man let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking over the folder in his hand before turning to face the group of genin.

"Well as you've probably already guessed, the purpose of this little gathering is to prepare you guys for what's to come as we focus on rebounding from the attack on the village. Of course you guys will be given a small grace period of rest seeing as you just returned the village, but be expecting to be back out working missions as early as tomorrow. Still, we have a few matters to take care of before that however," Shikaku said as Kakashi pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the ground. Placing his hand on top of the seal, in a poof of smoke three chunin vest appeared on top of it along with the matching tanto blades. "Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Neji Hyuga. Congratulations, you've hereby been promoted to the rank of chunin under the request of Hokage-sama himself."

The genin present let out a gasp while the mentioned party all stared at the vest from their standing places, having to be motioned forward by Kakashi himself before they made their way to the front of the room to grab the new garments. None of them put them on however, instead holding them in their arms as they returned to stand with the rest of the group as Shikaku waited for them.

"Now, in terms of what's going to be taking place from here on out. You can expect a lot of shifting in terms of who you'll be working with during assignments. You won't necessarily be paired up with those who were apart of your rookie teams, especially those of you who have been promoted to chunin rank. Most of the work will be within the village helping with the rebuilding process that will be taking place throughout. You may also be called upon to perform recon missions around the village's borders in order to insure enemy threats aren't present and to secure our defenses. There won't be much time for resting and individual practicing, so make sure that you're being mindful of your personal time use." Shikaku finished with a sigh.

"Questions or concerns anyone?" Kakashi asked after a moment had passed. Hesitantly, Sakura raised her hand up into the air as the masked man acknowledged her.

"Has there been any update on Sasuke-kun and Naruto's situation?" She asked as the others looked forward with hope as well. Kakashi looked over at Shikaku, who's stare stated that 'I already did my part for the day, it's your turn to handle something' as the silver haired man sighed. He was _not_ looking forward to this at all.

"Well, Sasuke is currently resting in the hospital after taking part in stopping the advancement of the invasion into the village. It appears that the two were somehow transported back here to Konoha, though we aren't still entirely sure of how that whole situation played out." Kakashi said as a wave of happiness washed over the younger shinobi as they celebrated the good news. Sakura and Hinata had already broken out into tears of joy while the others looked extremely relieved at the good news regarding their friends.

Ino had a similar reaction to the other girls but in a much more subdued manner as the shock from the situation was still getting to her. She wiped away a few of the stray tears that had managed to break through as her mind finally began turning again, her body shaking as the emotions finally began to settle in. Everyone was celebrating save for one, as Shikamaru quietly eyed his father who hadn't look their way the entire time since Kakashi started speaking about the subject. He also caught eyes with the silver haired Jonin, who stared back curiously at the boy before Ino's next words quieted everyone down.

"So Naruto's in the hospital too? When can we see them?" She asked as things in the room settled down. Silence followed her question as Kakashi rubbed at the back of his neck lazily, closing his one viewable eye and leaning his head back to face the ceiling.

"Naruto," He started as he brought his head back down to look over them, the change in his demeanor not going unnoticed as he continued on. "Naruto unfortunately didn't make it through the invasion."

Silence reigned over the room as the others simply stared at the man, trying to make sense of the words that weren't very hard to understand at all. Shikamaru's fist balled at his side as his fears on the situation were confirmed, though he still couldn't stop himself from uttering the next words to come out of his mouth.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked lowly as Ino brought her hands up to cover her mouth as she sunk down to the floor.

"Naruto Uzumaki was killed while engaging in battle with Suna's Jinchuriki." Shikaku said as Shikamaru turned to face him. He held on to his stoney expression even while being faced with the rare expression of his son crying. Closing his eyes, he turned to heads towards the exit of the room with Kakashi following after him. "You all have a duty to protect and serve the village in it's time of need regardless of your own personal matters. You're shinobi; the village's needs come before all else. I believe it would serve you well to remember that during the coming days."

With that, he and Kakashi left the young crop of shinobi to grieve and prepare themselves as they saw fit. While his words may have sounded harsh, he knew from personal experience that motivation could be difference in what keeps a shinobi going or succumbing to the tragedies around them.

He could only hope that for them it would be the former.

* * *

Naruto followed behind the Anbu guard escorting him silently as he was finally released out of the medical ward he was stationed in. The Hokage wanted to meet with him immediately after his release and he was currently on his way to said meeting, or at the very least thought he was. In actuality he had no clue where he was as he was led down a series of dimly lit hallways with large door entrances periodically popping up. He wanted to question his escort about his whereabouts, but the serious air that the man carried with him had subdued him into a awkward silence. Honestly, he hated his kind.

Eventually they stopped in front of one of the large green doors, with Naruto watching as the guard was apparently waiting for some type of signal. The door was opened by another Anbu, who motioned for Naruto to enter as he walked past him and into the room. It was small, much smaller than Naruto was expecting going off the size of the door he entered through to get in. It was illuminated by a single light hanging from the ceiling, which effectively only lit up the center where a table and set of chairs were prepared. Two people were already seated at the table, one being the Hokage himself and the other being Shikamaru's father, who Naruto immediately straightened up in front of.

The door closed behind him, and Naruto turned just in time to see the Anbu disappear into the vast shadows of the room. The sound of tapping brought his attention back to the table as the Hokage motioned for him to take the seat that was opposite to them. Naruto sat down quietly, eyeing Shikaku as he looked over the contents of a folder before turning to the Hokage, who nodded back to confirm some silent agreement between the two before turning his attention back to Naruto.

"Welcome Naruto-kun, I'm sure you're quite curious as to what is the nature of this meeting," Sarutobi started folding his hands and allowing his face to rest on top of them. "The truth of the matter is, the village is in a very dangerous state as you could probably imagine. There are many things that must be put into action quickly, and much of what is to come will be a shock to you, but I am betting on my belief of your capabilities as a shinobi that you will be able to come through for you home in its time of need, regardless of what those needs may require from you. I'm not wrong in this assumption am I Naruto-kun?"

Naruto robotically shook his head no, still not entirely sure where this conversation was heading but keeping up nonetheless. The Hokage turned over to Shikaku, who placed the folder down on the table and slid it over to the blonde, who stared down at it curiously as the Hokage continued to talk.

"Tell me Naruto-kun, what all do you know about our Anbu forces here in Konoha?" He asked as Naruto focused his attention back upon him.

"The Anbu? Well, they're consider the elite among the elite as far as I'm concerned. They're your- er, the Hokage's personal guard and take's missions related to that duty." Naruto replied before falling silent. He wanted to continue on, but realized that besides that there wasn't really much else he could tell the older man about the subject. The Anbu were only briefly discussed during his days in the academy, and outside of that he could rarely think of instances where they were even mentioned.

"Is that all?" Sarutobi questioned with Naruto nodding in response. "Well, you are correct on the matter of them being my personal guard. However, their responsibilities run much deeper than that. The Anbu are for all intents and purposes a secondary shinobi force, one that is more dedicated to working for its village in the shadows than even the regular shinobi forces are. Their sole purpose is to take on the mission's that are deemed of high importance, not only to the benefit of our village but in some cases the detriment of others. Work that's not exactly pleasant to do, but must be done nonetheless. It is because of these factors that many of their operations are off the records, and their identities are relatively hidden from the view of the public."

Naruto nodded along to his words, still not exactly sure where this conversation was heading as Sarutobi leaned forward on the table so that the two were staring each other directly in the face.

"In essence, they are the vessel that keeps the village running, and it is because of this that the selection process for such a force is extremely rigid. It's not the job for your average shinobi, or even one they might be called great by others. These ranks are reserved only for those who are truly special, the 'elite among the elite' as you so described it." Sarutobi finished as Naruto's eyes started to glow in recognition. "Naruto, you have been picked to serve as a candidate for potentially joining the Anbu ranks."

"W-w-wha b-but I…" Naruto murmured as he tried to speak through the shock of the situation. Shikaku took this time to reach over and open the folder laying in front of the boy, tapping down on it to center his attention on its contents. Naruto to his credit managed to calm down just enough to look over the information that was inside, his face slowly shifting from that of shock into a frown as he continued to flip through the pages. After a few minutes and a couple of rereads on his end, he closed the folder quietly and looked up at both Sarutobi and Shikaku, his face blank as the two stared back at him stoneyly.

"Is this some type of a joke old man?"

"Naruto-" Sarutobi started before Shikaku raised his hand to intervene.

"The fact of the matter is this; seeing as you're a Jinchuriki, you're technically classified as being a 'High Value Target', meaning there's people who would go through great means to get to you, or rather what's inside of you." Shikaku said as Naruto turned his gaze over to him. "Under previous circumstances Konoha's strength was enough to ward off any concerns we had of something happening to you, as long as we weren't careless and had you under moderate supervision. Treaties set in place between the major villages regarding the respect of claimed Biju also added some extra insurance on that part, however it appears we have a new threat on our hands that essentially makes that obsolete."

"You mean the attack?" Naruto questioned. Shikaku initially shook his head to show he was wrong, but after a moment thought nodded his head yes, confusing the blonde as he cocked his head to the side. "Well which is it?"

"Well with the village in such a weak state as it is now, it's not out of the realm of possibility that someone could try to take advantage of the situation and make an attempt to capture you. However, that wasn't the particular scenario I was getting at," Shikaku remarked as Sarutobi decided to step back in.

"Jiraiya has informed us of the rise of a new organization, one whose sole purpose is the collection of all nine Biju's. While they have been relatively quiet up to this point, we fear that they will soon began to become more active in their actions. In fact, we fear that you may have already come in contact with one of their members already," Sarutobi said seriously. Naruto's thoughts immediately flashed back to that of the masked man he met during the chunin exams, almost positive it was him that they were referring too. "Jiraiya will be able to inform you more of that matter when the time comes, but for now know that all that is being put into motion is solely for your protection in the long run."

"What about my friends? Shikamaru, Ino and the others, I can't interact with them if I'm…" He trailed off already knowing where that conversation was heading.

"You won't be able to get in contact with them unfortunately. A large part of this plan resides on the outside world's belief that you have passed away, and only a select few within the village will be allowed to know of your continued existence." Shikaku answered as Naruto allowed his hair to overshadow his eyes. He was about to continue when Sarutobi put his hand on his shoulder, signaling that he wanted to have some alone time with Naruto. Shikaku nodded to show he understood and stood up to leave, with the Anbu stationed in the room doing the same. Waiting until the door was closed, Sarutobi released a sigh and leaned in closer over the table towards Naruto, who was still staring down at the ground.

"Naruto-kun-"

"I get it old man, you don't have to try to sugarcoat the situation or anything." Naruto said quietly looking up at him. "I'm taking it my nomination and evaluation for being an Anbu candidate is going to be based more off necessity than actual skill isn't it?"

"Well while the only other times we've let someone as young as yourself join the Anbu ranks they were exceptionally more skilled than you are currently, and you're definitely far from Anbu material at the moment, that's not to say we don't believe you have what it takes to join," Sarutobi said with a smile. "With a little fine tuning, you'll be up to par with the skill level we require at our bare minimal at least. Of course, that depends on how hard you yourself work with the opportunities given to you."

"Opportunities?" Naruto questioned as Sarutobi stood up to walk around the table. Sitting down, his smile increased as he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"A major part of this operation is centered around making you stronger as an individual. To do that, we plan on having you continue your training with Jiraiya," Sarutobi started as Naruto's eyes lit up. "Along with some help from myself as well."

At this point Naruto's face was flushed with excitement as he stared over at the Hokage with his mouth agape. "Y-you're going to help with my training? But how? Don't you have the village to run?"

"Did you forget the nature of your original mission with Jiraiya? Tsunade's return will likely represent the end of my tenure as the current Hokage. Even though she's still being rather stubborn on the matter, the efforts she has gone to in order to help repair our home says enough on its own," Sarutobi said while stroking his beard. "There's still a few political situations that prevent the current time from being the right one to do so, but I believe it won't be long before the village has a new leader to look forward too."

"Wow," Naruto remarked looking back down at the palms of his hands. "There sure are a lot of things changes aren't there?"

"Indeed, and it is up to us to make sure that these changes are for the better. Not only to help us now, but to ensure a brighter future overall," Sarutobi said standing up. "Do you believe you are up to the challenge Naruto-kun?"

Clenching his fist, Naruto took a deep breath before standing up as well. Looking over at Sarutobi, eyes burning with determination, he nodded sharply as the older man let out a chuckle. "Yes Hokage-sama!"

"I must say, you've taken this influx of information much better than I had expected. You've truly become an outstanding Shinobi, and with this experience I believe you can become even greater." Sarutobi said as he motioned for him to follow him out of the room. "There is still much for us to prepare. Come along, Naruto-kun."

Naruto followed after him, his face hardened as he stared at the back of the Hokage's form. He'd be lying to himself if he said that he was happy with situation. In all honesty, it was quite the opposite. The thought of not being able to interact with any of his friends was killing him on the inside, but he could understand the underlying threat that neither Shikaku or Sarutobi were willing to completely put out there.

Him just existing was a threat to not only the village, but those close to him as well. If his 'death' would bring them any sort of protection, then he would gladly die a million times over. No matter how much it hurt him in the long run.

Protecting those close to him was the most important thing to him in life. He was sure the old man felt the same as well.

* * *

 **Well, that's the closing of this arc and the first part of this story. Thanks to everyone who've been following along the ride. I promise, things are only going to get better from here.**

 **Until next time my friends.**


	21. Back Into the Fray

**Chapter 21: Back Into the Fray**

* * *

" _Husky come in, do you copy?"_

…

" _Husky, I repeat, do you copy?"_

…

" _Husky, if you can hear me, I need you too-"_

The communication com sprung to life for 5 seconds, though nothing was said on the other end before it was promptly shut off again. Two Anbu personnels looked at each other before sharing a nod and jumping from their position hidden in the trees. The unspoken message was clear; the Anbu code named 'Husky' could hear them but wasn't in a position where a vocal response was an option. The male Anbu on the move quickly opened back up the communication com to continue gathering information on the situation. "Is your position about to be compromised?"

The com flashed on and off two times, translating into a 'no' as the two stopped their trek forward and and peered out onto a road cutting through the forestry. A chariot was being carted along, a thin veil hanging along the side that blocked the person inside from view. It was being escorted by six other shinobi guards who moved in a circle formation as it continued further and further down the road. From the treeline, the Anbu scanned over the shinobi escorts, darting from each individual until he landed on one with its index and middle finger extended out.

" _Located Husky, he's successfully breached the enemy's patrol. Waiting on word from commander Hawk to commence the operation."_

The line went silent for a moment before another male voice spoke out.

" _Wait until the target is stationed over the bridge. After that, begin the operation."_

The two shinobi continued to stalk the group from above as they slowly made their way to the bridge. They were eventually forced to stop when the forestry came to an abrupt end in the face of the valley that was present. The group of shinobi escorting the chariot continued on to the bridge, already reaching the halfway mark before a subtle twitch changed everything.

In less than a second, one of the guards went from walking next to the chariot to launching themselves over the bridge after throwing five kunai into the interior of the chariot. All five hit their target, but even if they hadn't, the resounding explosion that followed afterwards surely made sure that whoever was inside wasn't living anymore.

" _Husky, you've got three pursuing you over the edge of the bridge."_

" _Well they must be pursuing themselves, because I'm no longer under the bridge."_

The two Anbu watched as the guard who had previously jumped over the bridge came soaring back up into view, a powerful gust of wind propelling him upwards before he landed back safely on the ground. His form began to waver before the henge dropped, revealing him to be dressed in the prototypical black Anbu attire, his mask made in the image of a Husky dog breed. A black sword sheath with the weapon inside was positioned on his back, and he calmly reaffirmed the mask on his face before he walked forward towards the other two Anbu.

"We should probably get out of here before-" He started before jumping to the side to dodge a set of shuriken thrown in his direction. Sliding to a stop, he turned around and launched a set of his own as the three shinobi from before had regathered on land as well. "Shit."

"Move!" The female Anbu yelled out noticing an explosive tag had been launched their way. The three dispersed as the explosion rocked the area they were previously occupying. The female blurred through a set signs before spewing a stream of fire out of her mouth towards the enemy. One of them countered by meeting it with a jet of water, the two colliding and shrouding the area in a hot mist.

"Rendezvous on me-" The male Anbu started before his speech was cut short as a kunai pierced right through his heart.

" _Shit, looks like we lost Boar."_

" _We need to get out of this mist now!"_

Following the female Anbu's command, Husky quickly retreated backwards until he broke through the cloud of smoke. She followed behind him not long after, sliding to a stop with the two standing back to back. The six shinobi surrounded them as they both dropped into defensive standpoints, kunais out and weak points covered.

"Plan?" Husky mumbled lowly eyeing the three viewable from his vision.

"Don't die." She replied, her fox mask glistening in the sunlight from the moisture held on from the mist. Husky snorted audibly as he gripped his kunai tighter.

"Good plan."

In the blink of an eye he pulled out a flash bomb and tossed it towards the ground. The moment it went off, the two shinobi went to work.

Husky darted forward and easily broke through the defense of the blinded shinobi in front him, thrusting his kunai forcefully into his chest before yanking it back out and kicking him away. Flipping the kunai in his hand, he launched it at the enemy on his right while blocking an attack from his left. Flipping over his back, he twisted the man's arm out of its socket, allowing him to scream for only a moment before kicking his feet out from underneath him and slamming his head into the ground. He rolled over and used the now unconscious man to block the set of kunai launched at him. He kicked the shinobi off of him into the direction of the man charging towards him, using the distraction as window to perform a set of seals. Lightning crackled to life around his hand, and he pointed it up just as his decoy was pushed out of the way. In one quick motion, the lightning rocketed off of his hand and the bolt struck the man dead on, stopping him in his tracks before he slumped to the ground.

Simultaneously, the female Anbu was taking care of the three shinobi on her end as well. Using the flash bomb as cover, she pulled out two shuriken with ninja wire attached to them and launched them at the two figures on her left and right side. They expertly curved around the neck of the two attackers, who reached up to the grab at the wire that was restricting their breathing. Gripping the two sternly, she gritted her teeth before shooting a stream of lightning through both wires, electrocuting the two as the last one made its way directly down the middle for a head on attack. She jumped into the air, contorting her body so that she dodged the attack as she let go of the wires and turned to face the enemy underneath her. With a quick flick of the wrist, a kunai was launched into the back of his neck and just like that the fight had ended.

As the flash bomb's effects died down, Husky and Fox reunited in the center as they fell back into their defensive stances. They took a moment to survey the field, ensuring that all hostile forces were eliminated before she opened back up the communication com.

" _Status?"_

" _Exercise complete, stand down."_

Husky let out a huge sigh as both he and the female Anbu slumped down to the ground, leaning against each other to stay up right. Reaching up, he snapped his mask off and wiped the sweat from off of his forehead as cerulean blue eyes stared up to a matching sky. The sound of groaning caught his attention as he looked over to see the guy whose arm he twisted out of its socket rolling around on the ground with the other two shinobi he took out tending to him.

"Looks like you overdid it again _Husky."_ The female Anbu said playfully as she reached up to take off her mask as well. She looked to be a few years older than her companion, with long black hair that flowed down her backside and violet eyes that stood out from her rather pale skin. She moved a few loose strands of hair out of her face as she looked back at the boy, who snorted as he began to stand up from their sitting position.

"Hey, they said we could use whatever means necessary to pass the exercise didn't they? And you practically electrocuted two guys to death, so I don't wanna' hear anything from you about overdoing it!"

"Settle down Husky." Another voice called out walking onto the scene. It was man who looked to be in his mid twenties, with long brown hair tied into a ponytail and amber eyes that radiated with youth against his tan skin. An X shaped scar hung under his left eye, and he too was dressed in the standard Anbu gear, but unlike the other two he also adorned the signature Anbu symbol on his right shoulder. On his hip, a mask modeled after a hawk hung loosely.

"Sir!" The two yelled out as they righted themselves in his presence. After a wave of his hands, the two relaxed while he stood in front of them with his arms crossed, eyes flickering between the two as they stared back at him nervously.

"Well, it went better than the last exercise I can say that much," He said with a sigh ruffling his own hair. "Still would have preferred a 100% survival rate and an avoidance of the big showdown, but I guess that would be asking to much from you two now wouldn't?" They both looked away sheepishly as the man let out another sigh before motioning for them to follow after him. "Come on, we're going to meet with the Hokage. It's time for your evaluations."

* * *

Sarutobi stared down quietly at the last three files he had left on his desk. It was finally time for new Anbu recruits to be accepted into the ranks, and so far only one candidate had met the proper qualifications to do so after partaking in their evaluations. This wasn't uncommon of course; In fact, there were many years where no new Anbu were inducted into the ranks at all. This time, however, was a special occasion. His eyes glossed over the information regarding one of the prospects, Ikumi Yui, before traveling back over to the one he had been mostly focused on this entire time. The sound of the room's door opening brought his attention forward as three new figures walked inside.

Anbu commander Hawk was the first, followed by the girl he knew from the file to be Ikumi Yui. The last person to enter caused his gaze waver to for a moment as they took position in front of him, with one obviously going out if his way to not look the Hokage in the eye.

It had been 2 years since the invasion of Konoha took place, and the resulting official 'death' of one Naruto Uzumaki as well. Now 14 years of age, he had changed quite a bit since then, the most noticeable being of course his hair which they had opted to grow out in order to help aid in the hiding of his personality. It now reached well below his neck and towards the beginning of his back side, with his front bangs almost covering his eyes. He had become slightly more muscular, no doubt a result of the strenuous training he had been undertaking under the watch of Sarutobi and Jiraiya. There were even the early stages of growth spurt being present, as he was no longer towered over by his contemporaries and now looked to be around the average height for a boy his age.

The more prominent changes however revolved more so around his personality than his looks. Spending a great deal of his time around Jiraiya, Naruto had noticeable become more vulgar and standoffish than his previous self, no doubt habits he picked up as a result of the constant teasing he faced from the older man. Still, there was an air of maturity he carried with him that hadn't been present before. Jiraiya chalked it up to the fact that the boy was under a lot of pressure, and Sarutobi was inclined to agree. He was broken from his train of thought as Hawk walked up to speak.

"Hokage-sama," He started with a light bow. "I apologize for our tardiness, the evaluation process went on a little longer than I had expected."

"That is quite alright, I'd much rather the process be done right than rushed," He said looking over the two shinobi. "And the results?"

"Well as you can see were missing one candidate already, I took it upon myself to send him back to training camp. He wasn't Anbu material, yet at least." He started before looking back at Naruto and Ikumi. "As for these two, well I guess I'll start with Ikumi Yui."

"She's above average in her taijutsu skills and has shown profound skill in ninjutsu involving Fire, Lightning, and Water elements. Her genjutsu techniques are acceptable, she's effective at both tracking and stealth related assignments, and while her attitude is a bit on the rowdy side, she can work well within in a team. " He finished before taking a deep breath. "Seeing as she passed all of her evaluations, I believe she's a worthy candidate to officially join our ranks."

"I see," Sarutobi said sparring the girl a small nod, who bowed back with a blush on her face. "And Uzumaki-san?"

"Well, he excels in the taijutsu field and as you would expect, has the potential to be a powerhouse in terms of ninjutsu techniques. As of now however, he's proficient in Wind and Lightning techniques solely. His genjutsu leaves a lot to be desired, but at the very least he's able to detect and break his way out of them. Kenjutsu skills are still in the development stages, but are good enough to be used in actual combat. Like Yui-san, he was surprisingly effective in stealth related assignments, and also showed he could successfully work in a makeshift squad, though he is a bit headstrong," Hawk finished looking back at the boy. Naruto held back a grunt as Hawk turned back around to face Sarutobi. "All in all, I believe he's also ready for an entry level Anbu deployment."

"Very well then," Sarutobi said standing up and walking over to them. Stopping in front of Ikumi, Sarutobi gazed down at her while Hawk positioned himself behind her, forming a single hand seal as he held his other hand over her right shoulder. "Ikumi Yui, you were previously versed in the codes of the Anbu law upon your induction into the training program. I trust that you remember the vows you swore into?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," She said standing up a little more straight. "I pledge my unwavering loyalty and sole focus to the betterment of the village. I vow to serve the Hokage to the fullest of my abilities and perform any task of which I am called upon to complete. I vow to a life of secrecy in my actions, living as a vessel to serve the village from the shadows until either my demise or releasement."

"Ikumi Yui, I hereby deem you an official member of the Anbu operational units," Sarutobi said as Hawk channeled some chakra into his jutsu. Slowly, the red symbol of Konoha's Anbu formed on her shoulder, eliciting a small growl from the girl as it appeared to sting slightly. "May you serve your village relentlessly and pridefully from the shadows."

Bowing again, the girl took a step back as the two moved over to surround Naruto in the same formation. Clearing his throat, Sarutobi stared down into the eyes of the young boy, who this time was returning his gaze with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I trust too that you remember the vows that you swore into during your Anbu training induction?" Sarutobi asked while Hawk prepared himself behind Naruto.

"I pledge my unwavering loyalty and sole focus to the betterment of the village. I vow to serve the Hokage to the fullest of my abilities and perform any task of which I am called upon to complete. I vow to a life of secrecy in my actions, living as a vessel to serve the village from the shadows until either my demise or releasement." Naruto repeated monotonously as the Hokage watched on. Closing his eyes, Sarutobi turned around as Hawk began to engrave the symbol on Naruto's shoulder as well.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I hereby deem you an official member of the Anbu operational units. May you serve your village relentlessly and pridefully from the shadows." He said as Naruto bowed in response.

"Congratulations you two, you can head back to headquarters and prepare for you division placements in the next morning. Try not to be late," He finished looking at Ikumi in particular, who mumbled something under her breath as she looked away. After a quick bow from them both, Naruto and Ikumi left out of the room, leaving Hawk and the Hokage alone as the younger man turned to face his superior.

"You can begin with the proper evaluation of Naruto Uzumaki now."

"Right," Hawk said, his demeanor much more serious now than it was previously. "Well, his taijutsu level is Jonin level at least, that in its own is at least passable in terms of allowing him into Anbu. He's still lacking in the ninjutsu department, though not so much that it would be detrimental to a squad with personnel capable of making up for his lack of variety. Genjutsu is subpar at best but as I stated before, he's capable of detecting and breaking his way out of them well enough. His stealth abilities are surprisingly high, in fact they might be his best aspect in correlation to Anbu related work."

Hawk stopped for a moment as he tried to think of anything else that was of importance to report. Not finding anything, he figured it was time he got straight to the real point that Hokage was hinting at.

"The fact of the matter is, Uzumaki Naruto holds nothing that is a truly qualifying reason for him to be in the Anbu at such a young age, even if he's far ahead of most of the other shinobi in his age group. However, given his particular circumstance, I believe he will be able to at the very least hold his own within a proper combat squad. That's of course if you plan on placing him in one at all, there are other divisions of the Anbu he could join in."

"True, but do you honestly believe he would fit in any of the departments that didn't involve field work?" Sarutobi asked as with a small chuckle as he imagined the thought. "The plan was never put in place with the belief that Naruto would suddenly become prominent Anbu material over 2 years of training. The hope was that he could at least be placed on a squad without being a great liability and gain experience in the field, which brings me to my next point…"

"Hokage-sama?" Hawk questioned as the village leader placed a file on the table. He continued to speak as Hawk walked over to look at its contents.

"I'll get straight to the point; I want you to take Naruto into your squad and watch over his development during the operations you will participate in." Sarutobi stated as Hawk looked back up from the file he was reading.

"Sir, not to question your knowledge or anything, but you are aware that I haven't been put in control of a specific squad yet? Not only that, but the nature of my missions…"

"I'm aware, and in regards to your mission selection, the plan was to keep you away from any that will be overly strenuous for awhile, at least until you believe Naruto will be able to handle them," Sarutobi said leaning back in his seat. "In terms of you not having a squad, I think you'd be surprised to learn that Saito-san has decided to retire from the Anbu division."

"Saito-taichou is retiring?" Hawk asked displaying a rare showing of shock.

"Indeed, and who better to replace him than the man he held under his wing during his last tenure as a squad commander? Not to mention you're already familiar with the other members as well, it'll virtually eliminate any chemistry issues from the beginning, save for the addition of Naruto of course," Sarutobi said, staring at Hawk sharply as the man continued to look over the briefing. "Well, are you up to the task? This is not a direct order of course, you have the option of declining this assignment."

"No," Hawk said sternly placing the folder back down on the desk and standing up straight. "I'll take on an overwatch role for Naruto, under your command of course."

"I see," Sarutobi said, quickly signing a piece of paper before sliding it back into the folder and standing. "Congratulations Isshiki Iida, starting today you are the commander of the Alpha Combat Platoon's 4th squad. Further briefing of your responsibilities will be handled by your platoon's commander at another date, until then you are officially on rest leave."

"Hokage-sama," Isshiki said bowing before turning to leave. Watching as the door closed behind him, Sarutobi let out a sigh as he gathered up his things and prepared to head back to his official office in the Hokage's tower.

As always, there was much work to be done.

* * *

"Again!"

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Stream Technique!"**

"That's not enough output squirt, I'm gonna' need to see something bigger than that to be satisfied. Again!"

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Stream Technique!"**

"Come on, that's worse than the last one! Are you even trying? Again!"

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Stream Technique!"**

"Better, but it's still lacking. Do it again, and this time I want you to pump everything you have into the technique."

" **Lightning Release: Lightning Stream Technique!"** Naruto yelled out one final time as a stream of lightning exploded out in all directions from his body, effectively shrouding the entire room he was standing in with the element; which was no small feat considering just how enormous the chamber was. Maintaining the jutsu for a short while, eventually it gave out as Naruto released it and collapsed down to his knees, panting heavily as Jiraiya appeared in front of him.

"Not bad, you could probably take out an entire group of enemies with that technique once you get the hang of it. Crazy how helpful those giant reserves of chakra are isn't it?" Jiraiya said grinning down at the boy, who was still struggling to catch his breath as sweat fell down from his face onto the ground. "Well how about it kid, ready to call it a day?"

"No, we can keep going," Naruto whispered between breath, standing back up to one knee. "I'm fine, we don't have to stop yet."

"Resilient little bastard aren't you? Regardless, we're going to call it quits for now seeing as I've got a few other things I need to take care of before I leave out of the village. Besides, you have things of your own you need to handle." Jiraiya said as Naruto stood back up to his feet.

"You're leaving again? What's happening this time?" Naruto asked as the white haired man scratched the back of his head lazily.

"There's rumors and such that I need to check out, you know, the usual. Before that though I need to check in on how the Uchiha's curse mark seal is holding up." Jiraiya replied back to him. Naruto nodded silently at that, his mind unwillingly drifting off to thoughts of his former classmates before he quickly banished them. Sighing, he turned to follow after Jiraiya as the two went to exit out of the training room. Bidding the man a quick farewell, he made his way back into the Anbu training compound to prepare himself for his official initiation that was about to take place.

He went into his designated room, showering quickly to erase the evidence of his early morning training session before switching into a new set of Anbu gear. Making sure that he had all of his essentials on him, he walked over to his bed and picked up his signature mask, eyeing the Husky design for any signs of damage before strapping it to his side and moving to exit the facility.

He traversed the Anbu compound expertly, the routes and passages long ago drilled into his mind by a rather adamant Sarutobi. He nodded curtly at those who he was familiar with, still unable to place a name to most of the faces he passed by on the daily. In his defense, his comrades weren't exactly the most talkative type to begin with usually, and their worked basically centered around secrecy and tight lipped service.

Eventually he found himself entering the main lobby. Like most services within the Shinobi world, the Anbu circuit was divided into a number of different divisions and sections that specialize in certain fields; and within these divisions were separate platoons that operated typically independently of each other. Naruto was only thoroughly versed in the Recon, Intelligence, and Combat divisions, though there were still others he had yet to further delve into as everything he was being taught was done so in a 'need to know' manner first and foremost. These three divisions were more in line with his lane of work, so Sarutobi saw it fit that he become knowledgeable of them. He was broken out of his stupor as a hand came up to smack him on the back, causing him to stumble forward as he looked back to see the face of Ikumi smiling down back at him.

"Morning _Husky_!" Ikumi said sweetly as she walked back the boy. Naruto snorted as he righted himself and followed after her.

"I have a name you know…" Naruto grumbled while she looked back at him with mock confusion on her face.

"Oh? But last I check the person named Naruto Uzumaki was officially certified as being a dead man." She said mockingly as Naruto glared in her direction, causing her to giggle even more.

It was common knowledge within the Anbu community that Naruto Uzumaki wasn't actually dead. Seeing as the Anbu was made up of the Hokage's most trusted individuals and it's workforce was less than 50 people in number, the village leader saw it fit that it wasn't necessary to hide his identity from those who he would be working with.

One of the results from this was his relationship with Ikumi Yui. Ikumi was one of the handful of Anbu who like Naruto was still a teenager at 17. The two entered the Anbu evaluation process at the same time and instantly drifted to each other seeing as everyone else were usually far older than them, though oftentimes Naruto questioned whether or not she was good for his mental health.

"Anyways, you're planning on going into the Intelligence department aren't you?" Naruto asked looking over at the girl. "I think your good enough to work within the combat division you know."

"It's not a matter of being good enough, it's matter of preference Husky," She said calmly as the two continued on into another corridor. "My plan was always to join into the Intelligence department because that's where my passion lies, just like yours is in fighting. Even though I'm better than you at that as well."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Naruto replied flippantly, the two stopping in front of a door. It was the main entrance into the Intelligence department, and Ikumi turned around to give Naruto a quick smile before she entered.

"Good luck Husky, hope you don't become a further disappointment in life!" She said slapping him on the shoulder again before turning and entering through the doorway. Naruto stared after her until her form disappeared from view before continuing to his own destination. Standing in front of the entrance to the combat division, Naruto felt a small tingle coming from the area on his shoulder where his Anbu symbol was, signifying that he had gained clearance to enter. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he steeled his face as he walked through the doors. Walking into the main lobby, he looked around until his eyes landed on another face, or rather mask.

"I take it you're codename 'Husky' correct?" A woman's voice called out as Naruto nodded to confirm her assumption. "Follow me."

She took off in a quick stride that forced Naruto to break out into a trot to keep up. Falling in line with her, he followed silently while she led him to another door, opening it up and motioning for him to enter. Naruto peered inside wearily, noting how the room was completely dark from his point of view. Still, it wasn't as though he was unfamiliar with these types of situations, and he knew that it was common ground around here to perform a test of shorts for new recruits. With that in mind, he quietly strolled into the darkness, not even flinching when the door closed loudly behind and enshrouded him in blackness. He stood completely still, waiting for something to happen as he steadied his breathing to better his hearing. After two minutes passed without any activity, he began to grow a little anxious.

"Alright, to hell with this…" He mumbled holding his hand up in front of his face. Lightning began to crackle to life before it began to spread out throughout the room, illuminating it as Naruto took a look around. There was an opening in front of him that led to a long hallway, which Naruto hesitantly began to walk down. Lightning continued to run around his body, barely providing a source of light as he continued on until he found himself entering a large room, much like the training rooms he frequently used when he was training with Jiraiya and Sarutobi.

He stopped currenting his chakra as the room was already lit up by a series of candles that lined up from the walls up to the roof. Looking around, he slowly continued further into the new area until finally he was dead in the center. His body tensed as he felt the presence of others around him, and not long after found himself surrounded by three other figures. His hand had already instinctively reached for the blade that was hoisted on his back, though he stopped just short of pulling it out while he eye'd the newcomers curiously.

The one to his right was familiar seeing as it was the woman who had brought him here in the first place; he had remembered that her mask was made in the image of a panda. The other two however he had no prior knowledge of as they all simply stood staring at him. The sound of footsteps brought his attention forward with another person slowly walking up to him. Squinting, Naruto's face scrunched up when he realized who it was.

"Commander Hawk?" Naruto questioned as his hand slowly dropped from his sword's hilt. "What the hell is all of this?"

"A ritual of shorts," Isshiki replied coming to a stop right in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down at Naruto with small smile on his face. "A feeling out process if you will."

"I don't know," A female voice from behind him called out as he turned to see her walking up to him. "He doesn't look all that impressive to me."

Naruto stared back at her curiously, the two seemingly checked each other out. Her mask was shaped in the form of a dog much like his, except her's was bulldog instead of a husky. He was forced to turn again when the last remaining member snapped his fingers in recognition and pointed down at Naruto animatedly.

"Now I remember where I've seen you before, you're the same brat that I had to watch over after the invasion two years ago!" He yelled out. Naruto scratched his head at that, not entirely sure how to respond seeing that he didn't remember the man at all.

"Alright, enough of the hazing. Let's start the introductions," He said looking over at Naruto first. "Seeing as you're the only one we're unfamiliar with, let's start with you."

"Right," Naruto said getting a little more serious. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, codename 'Husky". Chunin rank shinobi, 14 years of age, recently promoted Anbu operative assigned to the Combat Division's Alpha platoon." He paused for a minute to consider what else he should say. "Technically speaking, I'm a dead man."

Isshiki sweat dropped at that last point before clearing his voice and pointing over to the female Anbu who was standing right behind Naruto. "Can you start us off?"

"Of course Isshiki-taichou!" She yelled out saluting the man as she took a step back from Naruto. Taking off her mask, Naruto was shocked to learn that she was an Inuzuka as she sported the signature markings on both her cheeks. Her spiky brown hair was cut short, giving her a tomboyish appearance as she smiled down at him, having maybe an inch of height over the boy.

"The name's Yozora Inuzuka kid. Jonin rank, 23 years of age, been a member of the Combat Division's Alpha platoon for over 3 years now. Proud representative of the Tora Squadron, now led by Isshiki-Taichou!" She finished standing in a formal, upright position. Naruto smiled nervously at her antics while Isshiki shook his head before pointing over to the other male member, who Naruto knew from previous knowledge was codenamed Falcon.

He was rather tall, at least from Naruto's perspective, and while his body was slim in appearance, there was definitely a sense of fitness to his physique. His hair was slicked back with a single strand falling over his forehead as his took his mask off, revealing his bright green eyes and and the wide smile on his face.

"I'm Aizen Oburo, Jonin rank and 20 years old. I was originally apart of the Recon Division's Delta platoon but was transferred over to the Combat Division a year ago. You can consider me the powerhouse of the group." He finished with a smug smile, crossing his arms over his chest. Yozora snorted to herself after that last point was made.

"If I recall correctly, you were the only one to return home from our last mission injured weren't you?"

"That's because I handle most of the fighting."

"You slipped off a tree branch and twisted your ankle."

"I didn't _slip,_ I just miscalculated my steps."

"...so you slipped."

Isshiki watched on tiredly as the two began to bicker about what had actually happened. Tuning them out, he looked over to the last remaining member as he motioned for her to go. Reaching up, it appeared as though she was almost reluctant to take off her mask, though eventually she did and got a visible reaction of surprise from Naruto when he saw that she was a Hyuga. Her pupiless eyes were a dead give away along with her milky skin and long brown hair that was tied into a bun. She almost reminded Naruto of an older version of Hanabi, though he kept that comment to himself as she began to speak.

"My name is Shiina Hyuga, chunin rank, age 18. I've been apart of the Combat Division's Alpha platoon for a year now." She finished quickly not once looking the blonde in his face. Seeing as it didn't seem she was going to be saying anything else, Isshiki clapped his hands to get Naruto's attention as the youngest member looked over at him.

"Right, well you're already familiar with me but I'll introduce myself anyways. I'm Isshiki Iida, Jonin rank and 26 years old. I've been in the Anbu operational units for over 8 years now, 6 of those years being in the Combat Division's Alpha Platoon. As of this year, I was promoted to the rank of Anbu Captain and put in charge Alpha Platoon's Tora Squad." Isshiki finished up as he walked up to Naruto. "Now, while I'm already pretty aware of your abilities seeing as I was in charge of your evaluations test, I'd like to get a better feel of your fighting style and habits so I can plan how you'll fit in on the team. You wouldn't mind participating in a little spar would you?"

"No problems on this end." Naruto answered back as Isshiki smiled down at him.

"Good. You'll be going up against me, so I'll give you a few moments to prepare yourself. The rest of you can just sit back and watch." He said turning to walk back a few steps.

"Aye Captain!" Yozora yelled out, mock saluting him again while the others went to stand off on the side. As they cleared the area, Naruto reached down to his side and unhooked his mask from the side of his hip, taking the time to put it on with Isshiki eyeing him curiously.

"It helps me concentrate," Naruto said after noticing the look the man was giving him. Isshiki shrugged at his reply as he watched him perform a few short stretches before standing upright again. "Well I'm ready whenever you are."

"Let's begin then," Isshiki replied as he unfolded his arms and fell into a defensive stance. Naruto did the same, the two staring across at each other without either moving a muscle. Though Naruto couldn't tell why Isshiki hadn't made a move yet, he sure as hell knew why he hadn't.

There were literally _no_ openings in his defense. At all.

Not that this was Naruto's first time dealing with such a dilemma of course. Having been undergoing training with the literal 'God of Shinobi' and Jiraiya of the sannin for over two years, it might have been more off putting for him if Isshiki did have any openings for him to attack. He was used to dealing with opponents like this, and he knew exactly what to do in response.

Wait it out.

Attacking head first and hoping that something would open more often than not resulted in you getting your ass kicked. Naruto had learned that the hard way over multiple attempts before something Sarutobi was always spouting about finally began to sink in. Patience is key, and it's also something that most shinobi are lacking in.

And so he waited, against his natural instincts of course. Ever so slightly, Isshiki began to inch forward at a pace that wouldn't be noticeable unless you were paying absolute attention to his movements. Luckily Naruto was, and as a result he was prepared the moment Isshiki burst forward and thrusted a kunai down upon the boy, who blocked it with one of his own as he pushed the man back.

Naruto took this opportunity to rush the commander before he could get his proper footing on the ground. Isshiki recovered quickly however and expertly deflected every attack that came his way, breaking through Naruto's defense and launching a kick into his stomach, lifting the boy off of his feet before he hit him with another one that knocked him away.

Righting himself in the air, Naruto launched a set of shuriken up before making a single sign. **"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"**

Five shurikens turned into hundreds as they quickly rained down upon Isshiki, who barely had enough time to finish up his own set of hand signs before he slammed his hands on the ground. **"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"**

The giant wall of earth erupted from the ground, protecting Isshiki from the onslaught of shuriken as they struck the structure harmlessly. Naruto quickly appeared around the corner of the wall, shocking Isshiki who didn't expect him to be on the offensive again so quickly. **"Wind Release: Spiralling Wind Ball!"**

Spouting the compressed balls of wind from his mouth in rapid succession, Isshiki was forced to retreat as the attacks exploded upon impact on the ground where he was previously standing. He was surprised for the second time today when two pairs of arms gripped him from both sides, looking back as two Naruto clones had snuck up behind him to hold him in place. The smoke that had risen from the impact of the previous attacks began to move erratically before focusing into a single point, Isshiki squinting his eyes as a blue light began to shine through the cloud.

Bursting through the smoke cloud, Naruto cocked his hand back as the famed Rasengan spun brightly in his hand. Falling down upon Isshiki's position, the man was left defenseless as the clones continued to hold him in place. Thrusting his hand forward Naruto stopped the attack just before it tore into Isshiki's abdomen, releasing the technique and allow it to serve as a miniature bomb of shorts as the compressed air exploded forwarded, dispelling the clones and launching the Jonin across the room. He slammed into the wall on the opposite end, Naruto eyeing his motionless body as he landed back on the ground.

To his surprise Isshiki's body slowly began to deteriorate, proving itself to be nothing more than a mud clone. Hearing clapping from behind him, he turned to see Isshiki walking in his direction, coming to a stop while smiling down at him.

"Wow, I didn't actually expect you to take out my clone. Good job Naruto," he said before noticing Naruto was still on alert. "You can relax now kid, we're done here."

"What? That's it?" Naruto questioned standing upright and cocking his head to the side. "That was barely an altercation, how could you determine anything from that?"

"Well, the fact that you shot out four jutsus in rapid succession without even breaking a sweat proved basically everything I need to know about what your placement on the team would be," Isshiki replied rubbing his chin. "Besides, like I said earlier I didn't actually expect you to beat my mud clone. If you can catch me off guard, then there's definitely a place for you on this squad."

Naruto clicked his teeth, righting himself before reaching up to take off his mask. Isshiki may have been trying to smooth things over, but the actual meaning behind his words were rather clear. He was going to pass regardless of what level of skill he showed. It was a situation he had been in multiple times since his entrance into the Anbu program, and quite frankly he was growing rather tired of it.

"Isshiki-taichou," Shiina called out from the sidelines, walking up a little to be within hearing range. "I believe Uzumaki-san should be further evaluated before being allowed onto Tora Squad."

"First off, I already told you to drop the whole 'taichou' thing, it just weirds me out," Isshiki said ruffling his hair. "And listen, I've already got a pretty good idea of how strong Naruto is, there's no point in-"

"Uzumaki-san may have proven himself to you, but I believe I'm not alone in saying that the rest of us may still have our doubts." Shiina replied sharply. "If your confidence in his skills aren't misplaced, then a further evaluation for our sake shouldn't be an issue."

"She's got a point there Cap'!" Aizen called out from the back, flinching when Isshiki sent a glare his way. Looking back over to Naruto, who was simply staring in his direction blankly, Isshiki grunted as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright fine," he mumbled looking over at the group. "What do you have in mind."

"I'll fight him!" Yozora yelled out as she ran up to them, practically salivating at the thought of battle. "Trust me, I'll get the boy to show us what he's _really_ made of."

"I don't think-"

"I'll do it," Naruto said looking over at the lady. Yozora grinned down at him with her canines baring, unnerving him enough that he took a step back from the woman. Isshiki looked between the two, rubbing the bridge of his nose before slowly walking over to the sideline with the others

"When I say it's over, _it's over."_ He said threateningly looking at Yozora in particular. The Inuzuka however acted as if she didn't hear him, bouncing in place as Naruto placed his mask back on his face in preparation for the fight. Standing across from each other, the two waited for a signal of when to start fighting, which came from Isshiki holding his hand up and bringing it down.

Yozora was quickly on the move, cutting the distance between the two in less than a second as Naruto was already on the retreat. Dodging an array of punches, he was forcing himself not to curse out from how relentless she was in her attacks. He tried to push her back after blocking a punch to give himself some breathing room but instead she recovered and closed the gap between them, finally landing a hit to his side.

Flipping away, Naruto branded a kunai from his arm guards and threw it at Yozora, using it as a distraction to get a quick set of seals off. **"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"**

Slamming his hands onto the ground, the form of two lightning composed wolves exploded from the earth and ran in Yozora's direction. She expertly dodged their attempts of attacking her, jumping and weaving away from their strikes in a impressive acrobatic showing. She flicked two quick shurikens towards Naruto, forcing him to drop the jutsu and dodge the projectiles.

Yozora once again closed in on him, blocking the set of kicks he sent her way and flipping over him to get to his back side. She attempted to jab him in his back with her elbow, but Naruto turned to block the attack. He kept up his guard as she dropped to the ground, spinning wildly while kicking her feet out in his direction. Jumping away, Naruto stopped on a dime as Yozora righted herself and sent him a grin.

"Not bad kid, you're actually keeping up." She said closing her eyes and cracking her neck. Her grin darkened however as she crouched lower, her features becoming slightly more feral in appearance. "Let's see how you handle this!"

She disappeared in a burst of speed, and it was with pure instincts alone that Naruto managed to duck under her attack that came from behind. He was unprepared however when she kicked his feet out from underneath him, grabbing him by his hair and launching him up into air. Jumping over his ascent, she slammed her foot down onto his mask, knocking him back down to the ground where he crashed before rolling to stop. Trying to regain his bearings, he saw the attack from the side coming but couldn't react in time as her fist connected with the side of his face, propelling him into the air again before he flipped mid flight and skidded to a stop.

A metallic taste began to form inside his mouth as he took a minute to breathe. Growling, he rose back up to his feet, pumping a little chakra into his legs to give him a speed boost as he took off to go on the offensive. He brought two clones to life, falling behind him them as they charged forward to the patiently waiting Yozora. She made quick work of the first one to attack her, countering his frontal attack with a quick duck underneath and jab to the stomach. She turned in time to catch the kunai strike coming from the second one, catching the weapon between her fingers as she and the clone stood in a deadlock. Gripping his fist tightly, she lifted him into the air and swung him around in the direction of the original.

The clone dispelled and provided a smoke screen for Naruto, swirling around his right arm as he breached Yozora's defense before she could react. **"Wind Gale Thrust!"**

Yozora barely brought her arms up in time to block the attack, but was still propelled backwards as the miniature tornado launched off from Naruto's fist. She crashed into the side of the room hard enough to shake the entire structure, getting a whistle from Aizen who was watching the smoke from the impact rise up.

"That's a hell of a technique." He said with his captain agreeing. Shiina continued to watch on silently, her eyes not once leaving Naruto's form as he stood waiting for Yozora to emerge. He didn't have to wait long as sure enough she came out walking from within the smoke, twirling her arm in a wide motion while still maintaining the grin on her face. Naruto narrowed his eyes before darting forward, this time bringing ten clones along with him as they all spreaded out to gain leverage.

"Time to get a little serious I see…" Yozora mumbled before running off to meet them. At first Naruto was a little surprised by this, but soon he figured out why she was confident at charging against ten enemies.

Simply put, she was just a much better fighter than he was. One after another she ran through each and everyone clone until her fist found itself sunk into the stomach of the original, knocking the wind out of his lungs before she finished it off with a knee to the chest. She continued her assault, with each landing hit bringing Isshiki closer and closer to calling off the match. Just when he was about however a pulse shot throughout the room, followed shortly by a delayed burst of wind and chakra that pushed Yozora into the air and away from the boy.

Aizen was now standing up a little more straight while Shiina had stiffened in place, if only for a moment. Isshiki was mostly unaffected, but his eyes were zeroed in on Naruto while the remnants of the chakra's feeling washed over them. Yozora landed harmlessly on the ground, for once her seemingly permanent grin gone while she watched the area Naruto was occupying.

His mask had falling off, exposing his face and specifically the red eye's he sported that were focused on Yozora. Closing them, he wiped off the little bit of blood that was trailing from his mouth before he opened them again, this time in their normal blue state. Noticing their stares, he looked between them before smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head.

"Give a head's up before I use the Kyuubi's chakra, duly noted," He said getting a snort from Yozora as her smile returned. Isshiki rubbed his head in exasperation while Shiina stared at him in disbelief.

"Wait, _he's_ the container of the Kyuubi?" She asked more so to herself than anyone in particular. Of course she had heard of Naruto Uzumaki before, though it was usually fleeting and only since she had joined into the Anbu. It wasn't enough for her to remember however, and definitely not to the point that she could put a name to the face.

"That's right, you're apart of the generation that isn't all that familiar with his status. I honestly forget since you act like you're twenty years older than you are," Isshiki said looking down at the girl, not noticing the blush she was trying to hide at his words. "But yeah, that's the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki in all of his glory, quite the runt isn't he?"

"I heard that bastard…" Naruto mumbled glancing over at him before focusing back on Yozora.

"Well then, let's get back to it shall we?" She said crouching down low in a feral stance. Naruto got into one of his own, the two preparing to pounce on each other before Isshiki whistled out to get their attention.

"Actually, we're going to have to call it a day. I've still got paperwork I need to short out regarding Naruto joining our team, and from the reaction Shiina just gave I believe she's a little more confident in his abilities now than before," Isshiki said as Yozora let out a groan.

"We don't have to stop just because you're leaving, we can continue the evaluation on our own!" Yozora stated while stomping her foot on the ground childishly. Isshiki ignored her, Naruto relaxing from his fighting stance when he spoke up again.

"I don't trust you not to hurt him while I'm not supervising, I don't trust Aizen to step in if things get to bad, and I don't want to put poor Shiina-chan in that situation at all, so I'm gonna' say no." He said turning to leave out of the room. "Show the newbie around the Combat Division compound and get him familiarized. Oh, and Naruto, welcome to Squad Tora."

"Thanks Isshiki-taichou," Naruto said saluting the man while Yozora snorted in the background. Isshiki grunted as he exited out of the complex, leaving the rest of his team to their own devices. Yozora made a noisy showing of stretching before walking by Naruto, patting him on the shoulder before continuing on after their leader.

"You guys have fun showing the newbie around, I'm going to take a well deserved nap." She said waving over her shoulder. "We'll finish our fight later Newbie-kun!"

"Right…" Naruto mumbled watching her as she left. Aizen came up and wrapped his shoulder around the younger boy, dragging him along as they made their way out as well.

"Come on kid, this'll be especially important for you seeing as you can't go into the actual shinobi compounds within the village. Come along Shiina-chan!" He called out motioning for her follow. Begrudgingly she did so, all the while Naruto's thoughts drifted back to the regular days of the Anbu training program.

Maybe it wasn't too late for him to go back.

* * *

The next day saw Naruto waking up at 6 a.m. sharp, per his usual schedule. Anbu personnel on duty weren't required to check in until 7 a.m. under normal circumstances and it rarely took him over 10 minutes to prepare himself for the day at leisurely pace, but he found the extra moments of just sitting in his room to be rather peaceful. Before he knew it, the act had become apart of his normal routine.

By the time the clock had switched to 7, he had already strolled into the Combat Division's main lobby, where he was once again met by a waiting Shiina who stood up the moment she caught sight of him.

"We have a mission." She stated quietly before turning to walk away. Naruto stumbled over his words for a moment before breaking out into a jog to catch up with the quick paced girl, walking alongside her while pressing for more information.

"Wait, we've got a mission? Already? Isn't there like a feeling out period or something before they thrust you into your first assignment?" He asked a little shocked at how fast he had been given his first task. Not that he was complaining of course, he was eager to get his first mission as an official Anbu under his belt. It just felt a little sudden, especially for someone as unproven as himself.

"Apparently you were asked for directly in terms of being apart of this operation," She said monotonously glancing over at him. "Besides, Lord Third never approves of sending out someone he doesn't believe is up to the task in question. You'd serve best to remember that."

"Right…" Naruto said skeptically looking forward again. "Any idea who'll be accompanying me on this mission?"

"It'll be a makeshift squad of you, me and... _Oburo-san._ " She replied, mumbling the last part. "It's an escort mission. Political in nature. We'll be heading to Sunagakure. Anbu mask on now by the way."

"Who are we escorting?" Naruto asked while he placed his mask on his face.

"You'll find out soon enough." Aizen called out cheerfully appearing in front of the two. "Right now we're just waiting on the signal from Lord Third to be called over. When it's time, that insignia on your left arm will give you a little a tingle and alert you of his current position if he's within range. No matter what's going on, if you get that call, drop everything you're doing and respond immediately."

Naruto nodded, a little unnerved at how quickly Aizen switched from his cheery self to a more serious demeanor. As if on que, he felt a slight burning sensation coming from the insignia on his arm, the three immediately disappearing in a simultaneously shunshin into the Hokage's office. They bowed upon entering, Naruto's eyes scanning the room upon rising. He held back any noticeable reaction upon seeing Tsunade seated in front of Lord third, staring back at them passively while Aizen stepped up to address the Hokage.

"You'll be serving as an escort squad for Tsunade-hime as she handles some diplomatic proceedings on the villages behalf." Sarutobi stated as Aizen nodded in response. "It will take place within Sunagakure, and under no circumstances at all is Tsunade-hime to be left alone. _None._ It should take no longer than two days for the meetings to take place, after which you'll escort her directly back to the village. Follow any direct orders she gives you during your time as her guards. Clear?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," Aizen replied bowing to the man before turning to Tsunade. "We're prepared to leave whenever you're ready Tsunade-sama."

"Well let's get this crap over with, Shizune should be already waiting at the front gate…" She mumbled standing up heading for the exit. Stopping at the door, she looked back at Naruto in particular, who stiffened a little behind his mask as her eyes scanned over his form. "You, in the dog mask, go grab me some sake before we leave, and make it snappy."

Naruto stood frozen in place for a moment, processing what she had just asked him before his mind started turning again. He was about to bark out in his usual manner when dealing with the woman, even if he hadn't seen her in over two years, when he felt the eyes of others focused on him, specifically those of the Hokage himself. Begrudgingly, he bit his tongue and bowed in response.

"Yes Tsunade-sama," He said quietly before disappearing from the room, leaving the woman to chuckle to herself as she turned to leave out of the office.

"Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be…"

* * *

 **And we back! Right now we're transitioning into what I consider to be the second half of this story, we're a lot more of the changes you saw from the original canon in the first half will start to really take shape. This chapter felt a little slow to me, but you've got to introduce the key players from here on out so it's necessary.**

 **Anyways, we cracked 50,000 views since the last chapter posted. For those of you who've followed and favorited the story, along with reviewing, I really appreciate all the support. I know I've said this before and all but really, it means a lot that people are actually enjoying this. Until next time friends.**


	22. Politics

**Chapter 22: Politics**

* * *

The trip to Sunagakure was coming upon its 5th day as the group escorting Tsunade continued on in a leisurely pace, seeing as the actually meeting wouldn't take place until whenever she had arrived. Aizen, serving as the defacto captain of the mission, was the only one who had to travel with Tsunade specifically for the entirety of the trip. Because of that, Naruto and Shiina were sent ahead in order to prepare for their arrival. Upon receiving word that the group would be coming in today, the two were stationed outside of the entrance of the village to meet them, though it had been over 3 hours since the messenger bird had come through. Still, they stood in waiting and though Naruto hadn't said anything aloud, his thoughts were more aligned with how he was truly feeling.

It was hot. _Really_ hot.

He wanted to complain, hell he had even considered just ripping his mask off altogether in hopes of catching some form of a direct breeze to his sweat ridden face. He had undergone his training however, and so he was disciplined enough to hold his composure even under these uncomfortable situations. It also helped that Shiina hadn't moved a muscle or even shown a slight hint of discomfort their entire time out here, and his competitive spirit wouldn't allow him to be shown up even in a competition he had created by himself alone.

And so they waited; the sun blaring down on the two shinobi as they continued to peer out into the seemingly never ending desert in front of them. He could feel the stares coming from the Suna guards watching them from the shadowy shelter the two large cliffs leading into the village provided, and briefly wondered why _they_ couldn't wait inside of the shade instead of standing out directly in the sun. He tossed that thought to the side however once he noticed small change in Shiina's stance.

Looking out, he could just make out the shape of a group coming their way, and he crossed his fingers in hopes of it being Tsunade and Co. His prayers were answered as the group finally got close enough for him to be able to make out who exactly it was made of, watching as Tsunade and Shizune shuffled over to them with Aizen not to far behind.

"I still wonder who's bright idea it was to build a village in the middle of a _fucking desert._ " Tsunade hissed as she removed the veil that was helping to block the sun from her face.

"Remember Tsunade-sama, best behavior." Shizune replied chuckling nervously while Tsunade snorted at her words.

"I take it all of the preparations have been made?" Aizen asked walking up to stand in front of Shiina.

"Yes sir, everything has been accounted for. Seeing as your arrival has come in the late afternoon the meeting won't be held until tomorrow morning." Shiina replied professionally.

"Great, then let's get the hell out of this heat and into a hotel. Preferably one with some _entertainment_." Tsunade spoke up walking past the group and over to Sunagakure check in station. Shizune hurried after her while Aizen held back a grunt of frustration, turning back around to face his two partners.

"Listen, during her tenure in the village Tsunade-sama will always need one visible Anbu operative at her side, save for the meeting where all three of us will be in attendance." Aizen said before turning to Naruto. "You'll be serving as her personal guard seeing as this is your first escort mission and you're not familiarized with Sunagakure's 'hidden in plain sight' rulings and restrictions. Me and Shiina will always be within a reactable distance, so in the very rare case that something does happen you won't be left out to dry. Follow?"

"Yes sir," Naruto replied processing the information quickly. Aizen nodded before turning over to Shiina.

"We'll be in constant motion for almost this entire operation. Stay on my six and keep your eyes peeled. Like I said, the chances of something actually happening is pretty small but we always have to be prepared for the unexpected." He stated, Shiina nodding in understanding. The two disappeared from view as Naruto moved to catch back up with Tsunade. They were quickly moved through Sunagakure check in system and eventually found themselves standing inside of the village itself.

"I haven't been here in years," Tsunade mumbled to herself looking around. "Sad that it's still a dump. Alright brat, take me to my hotel already. I'd like to get settled in before venturing out to try whatever 'festivities' this place has."

Naruto held back a growl as they quietly began to walk through the village, him leading the way as they came to a building that was close to Sunagakure's Kage headquarters. Naruto motioned the two in, bypassing the front desk as their room and service had already been taken care of prior too. The hotel was rather high end, filled with what looked to be traveling nobles and high ranking Suna officials. It was because of this that Naruto was a little shocked to find that they were still the center of attention, with most of the gazes focused on Tsunade before they would briefly flickered over to him, no doubt curious as to who the masked boy was. He was relieved when they finally made it to their room, waiting until Tsunade's belongings had been dropped off before closing the door.

"Tsunade-sama, I think I'll take a shower before we head out." Shizune called out as she made her way to the bathroom. Tsunade waved her off, sitting down on the couch and releasing a large sigh as she massaged the side of her head. Her eyes flickered open and drifted over to Naruto, who was standing by the door with his arms folded behind his back watching over her.

"You know you can relax a little bit now right? Nothing's going to happen to us while we're here in the hotel. I can guarantee it." She said as Naruto unfolded his arms and brought them to his side. He still hadn't moved from where he was standing however, getting the Sannin to roll her eyes. "Ok, let's try this again. How about you come over _here_ and take a seat. And take that mask off, it's giving me the creeps."

"I'm supposed to keep my mask on at all times during required operations unless it's a situation where I can't access it or there is a direct need to remove it." Naruto sounded off quietly. Still, he slowly walked over to where the woman was sitting, not taking a seat himself however as he just hovered over her.

"Listen, either you take the mask of yourself or I'll remove it for you. It's been two years, I've almost forgotten how you look." She replied narrowing her eyes when see saw he was still hesitant. "There wasn't a second option in what I said."

Begrudgingly, Naruto slowly lifted his hand up to unhook his mask form over his face. He brought down to his side, eyeing Tsunade wearily while her eyes scanned over him. After a moment, she let out a sigh and chuckled to herself.

"I swear genetics are a scary thing…"

"What?" Naruto questioned not exactly hearing her words clearly. Tsunade shook her head to show it was nothing before motioning for him to take a seat next to her. This time he did so, though he kept his distance as the older woman crossed her legs and looked over at him.

"So brat, what have you been up to since the last time I seen you? You certainly look different." She added as Naruto scratched the side of his face in thought.

"Well, I've been...training. That's pretty much it to be honest, no time for anything else according to Hokage-sama." Naruto said looking back over at her. "What about you? I've heard about the medical programs you've instituted throughout the village and into the shinobi curriculum. I'm pretty shocked seeing as you were so adamant about not wanting to return to the village when we first left out to get you."

"Ahh shut it kid, I only stuck around initially to make sure things were ok after the attack. I would've left out the first moment I had a chance to if the old man wasn't keeping such close tabs on me…" Tsunade mumbled reaching up to her neck. Her fingers danced around the jewel that hung loosely around it, eyeing it with a stormy gaze before she hesitantly unhooked it from around her neck. "Here. Catch."

"Wait wha-" Naruto said, barely managing to catch the object out of the air. He gazed down at curiously before his eyes lit up with recognition, looking up to Tsunade who was making a showing of not returning his gaze.

"I said I was a woman of my word didn't I? You won it fair and square." Tsunade said as Naruto looked back down at jewel.

"But I didn't win the chunin exams?" Naruto questioned. Tsunade stood up from her spot on the couch, stretching upwards before turning to head towards her room.

"Well seeing as the exam never finished, no one exactly won the exam. Still, you were promoted to chunin weren't you? And if you were able to beat the Shukaku of all things I doubt anyone who was participating in that exam would have been able to stop you." Tsunade reasoned as she continued on. Naruto followed her with his eyes momentarily before his gaze fell back on the necklace, a genuine smile appearing on his face for the first time in the long time.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

Stopping at the entrance of the door, her grip on the doorknob tightened ever so slightly as the words reached her ears.

"No," she said lowly enough that he wouldn't be able to hear her. "Thank you."

The door closed silently behind her, leaving the boy alone as he admired the necklace in his hand.

* * *

 **(The Next Day)**

"...all things considered, we were able to neutralize the rogue shinobi force without too much trouble. I doubt anyone else will try to take over in their stead, but it might be necessary to put a small shinobi force out there temporarily just in case."

"I see," Sarutobi said nodding his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Well your report covers everything I could have asked for, so you can consider the mission completed. In regards to positioning a mobile shinobi force in the area, I may have you take part in said operation if I feel the need to do so arises. Until then, you're off duty."

Sasuke nodded before bowing and turning to leave out of the office. As he reached for the handle of the door it was opened for him, looking up to see Kakashi staring back down at him.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked as the older man smiled with his visible eye.

"Sasuke-kun, haven't seen your face around here in awhile. Just getting back in from a mission?" He asked moving past the younger boy to get inside of the office. Sasuke nodded in response, eyeing his sensei a little curiously as he wondered what his reasoning for being there was. Taking notice of this, Kakashi gave him another eye smile before making a little shooing motion with his hands. "Well while I'd love to catch up with my favorite student of mines, it's time for grown ups to talk grown ups business. I'll get in touch with you later yeah?"

Sasuke grunted quietly, turning to leave out fully and closing the door behind him. Kakashi turned his attention over to the Hokage, who was watching on with a bemused look on his face. "Interesting relationship you have there with your students."

"Relationship is a bit of a strong word to describe it," Kakashi said moving to sit down in front of him. "So, what's on the agenda for today Hokage-sama?"

"Remember the expedition I had you take part in to the border between us and Sunagakure?" The Hokage asked seriously. Kakashi rubbed his head a little in thought while the memories came flooding back to him.

"The one with the little rag tag group of shinobi who were trying to take over the area? Vaguely. Why?" He replied back as Sarutobi stood up from his chair.

"At first we as a collective brushed it off as being a one time thing. After all, it's not the first time we've had a group of individuals try to monopolize a small area of land under our jurisdiction and use it to gain commerce." Sarutobi said walking up to the window and looking out of it. "However, since that incident we have had four more under similar circumstances occur, the most recent being the mission young Sasuke-kun just returned from."

"So you're thinking there may be a bigger issue at hand here?" Kakashi asked sitting up a little more straightly.

"Indeed I do. It is no secret within the shinobi world that Konoha is in a weakened state right now, and it would be foolish for us to believe that there aren't those out there who would want to administer... _tests_ of our current strength."

"Who do you have in mind?" Kakashi asked while Sarutobi grabbed a scroll off of his desk.

"Too many for it to be worth discussing, that's why I have a mission for you," Sarutobi said passing the scroll over to him. Kakashi grabbed it and read over its contents silently, Sarutobi waiting patiently until he was finished. After a few moments Kakashi rolled the scroll back into one hand and placed it back on the desk, looking over as Sarutobi returned back to his chair and stared back at him. "Well, I suppose you have a few questions for me."

"Quite a few actually, but I think I'd like to start with this one…" Kakashi said closing his eye and pointing back down at the mission in question. "What is that?"

"Well as the report stated, it will be an extended operation where you'll take lead-"

"Yeah, I remember what the report states, but no really," Kakashi said interrupting hurriedly. "What is _that._ "

"Now while I know you might have your reservations about the parameters of this assignment, especially regarding the rather large leadership role you'll be forced to take on in order for this operation to work smoothly, rest assured that I wouldn't be picking you for this if I didn't believe you weren't qualified for it." Sarutobi said reaching into his drawer and pulling out his tobacco pipe. "I am fully confident in your abilities to be able to see this operation through until I deem it no longer necessary."

"Honestly if you believe this is a mission I'd be suited for I might be starting to question whether or not old age is starting to affect your judgement." Kakashi said ruffling his hair a little. "So what exactly am I looking at in full here?"

"So far we've designated five areas where we'll set up temporary settlements. That means you'll have essentially those five outlooks falling under your responsibility, perhaps more if we feel other areas are threatened." Sarutobi stated taking a drag from his pipe. "You'll be responsible for collecting weekly reports from these outlooks as well as sending me back a monthly update, unless of course something happens that needs to be brought to my attention immediately."

"So you're essentially putting me in charge of small subsection of shinobi," Kakashi said airily leaning back in his seat. "That's quite the mission Hokage-sama."

"Indeed it is, which is why you're the only one I trust enough to be in control of it. I don't think I have to tell you this, but my time as Hokage is rapidly coming to an end. Between you and me, from a purely combat standpoint, I've been undeserving of the title for the last year." Sarutobi said with a small chuckle. Kakashi however wasn't laughing, clenching his fist as his eyes lingered over his leader.

"Has it really gotten that bad already?" Kakashi asked as Sarutobi took another pull from his pipe. Blowing out the smoke slowly, Sarutobi nodded quietly before placing the pipe back down on to his desk.

"I'd reckon over 80% of the techniques I was once able to perform are no longer available to me, and if Tsunade's words ring true I won't be able to mold chakra at all by the years end." Sarutobi replied almost as if he was talking more so to himself than to Kakashi. "Which is why I'm doing everything in my power to ensure that Konoha is in the best position it can be in before I take my leave. And I fear still that even that won't be enough."

"You're planning on making Tsunade your successor aren't you? Excuse me if I'm speaking out of term here, but it doesn't sound like you have much faith in her in regards to leading the village after you're gone." Kakashi said curiously.

"Quite the contrary, I believe Tsunade-hime will turn out to be a great leader for the village when everything is said and done. I simply fear however that even a great leader won't be enough for what is coming our way." Sarutobi said with a heavy sigh. "I've lived a long life Kakashi, and I've experienced the looming tides of an oncoming war many of times. I don't think I need to tell you, but the shinobi world is in a dangerous climate right now. Another war is on the horizon whether we like it or not, and sadly I believe that too many things have already been set in motion to prevent it from happening. Which is why we have to put Konoha in the best possible position it can be in before anything does."

Kakashi sat in silence for a moment, taking in all Sarutobi had just said before finally looking back up at him as he rose up to leave. "So, when exactly is this process going to start?"

"If everything goes as planned, we should have the first headquarters set up by the end of this month. That's when your job will start, but until then I'm giving you time to set up whatever it is you believe will help you in making sure this a success," Sarutobi said leaning back with a smile. "That includes any specific shinobi you might want to have part take, under my agreement of course. I think a certain Uchiha would be quite interested in helping out his sensei on this matter."

"His sensei is going to need a lot more than a little help…" Kakashi grumbled as he stood up to leave. "By the way, where is the Hokage-to-be anyways? I haven't seen her around the village in awhile."

"She's out on her first official diplomatic excursion. Hopefully everything is going smoothly, I fear the negotiation side of things might bring out the worst in her…" Sarutobi answered, his mind lingering on his student for a while longer.

How _was_ that mission going?

* * *

"FUCK!"

"Tsunade-sama, language! There are children around!" Shizune yelled horrifically while her master brushed her off.

"What the hell are kids doing in the gambling section of a hotel anyways? I shouldn't have to censor myself in a place of comfort!" She replied back, turning around to pull on her slot machine once again. Shizune shook her head irritably while Naruto watched from a little ways away, taking the opportunity to step forward and address the two.

"Tsunade-sama, we need to start heading back to our hotel room. It's almost time for us to head out for the meeting and we have to be escorted there by the Sunagakure guards." He said, keeping his composure as the older woman turned her irritated stare in his direction. She grabbed her things and slid off of the stool she was sitting on, swearing to herself while she led the way back to the hotel room. As they were coming up they were met by four people, three of them being Suna guards and the last being Shiina clad in her Anbu gear.

"Tsunade-sama, the council is ready to begin the meeting." One of the guards said stepping up to her. Tsunade nodded to show she was ready as well, turning to Shizune and passing over Tonton.

"This shouldn't take long-hopefully. Stay in the hotel room until we return, alright? We still aren't a hundred percent sure what kind of game Sunagakure is trying to play here." She whispered lowly to her assistant. After making sure she understood, Tsunade turned back around towards the others. Naruto meanwhile had shifted his eyes over to where Shiina was standing, noticing the lack of a certain someone who was supposed to be with her. Slyly, he began making concealed signs with his hand to communicate with her.

' _Commander's status?'_

' _Occupied. Continue as planned.'_

Naruto frowned behind his mask. What the hell could have been more important than ensuring Tsunade's safety at the moment? He didn't have long to linger on the thoughts however as he was soon taking up position beside Tsunade, the group making their way out into the village. Once again, it was almost as if they were a walking spectacle with the way the villages stood on the sides of the street and watched them. Luckily the building where the council held their meetings was close to the hotel, so they were off of the streets quick and into the more shinobi oriented atmosphere .

Naruto's eyes fluttered around the room rapidly, taking in his surroundings and noting anything he deemed to be worthy of remembering. The most blatant thing he noticed was the air of nervousness enshrouding the place, as everyone seemed to be running around in a rush. Hell, he hadn't seen or felt a single resemblance of positivity since he entered. It seemed to only grow worse once their presence was noted, as while it wasn't as noticeable as the villagers he could feel the stares coming from the shinobi and political figures in the area. Those who were from Sunagakure specifically were giving off a feeling that didn't make much sense seeing as they were grossly outnumbered at the moment.

Fear.

Pushing that thought to the side, he duly noted that there were a lot of representatives from places besides Konoha present. He was soon back on the task at hand however as they were finally at the entrance of the meeting room, two of the Suna guards stepping forward to open the doors as Tsunade stepped inside followed by Naruto and Shiina. In the center of the room was a large round table, filled with various people who all looked to be of important status within the village. The only face that stood out to him was one of the men near the center. He vaguely remembered seeing his face around the chunin exams, though really it was the fact that half of it was distinctively covered up by a veil.

Tsunade was showed to a seat that was in the middle of the circle, with Naruto and Shiina posted directly behind her. The man Naruto recognized, seemingly noticing Tsunade's bored stare, cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"The meeting will begin shortly, we're simply awaiting on the arrival of Kazekage-sama." he said, Tsunade perking up at that little bit of information.

"The Kazekage? Konoha was under the impression that Sunagakure hadn't appointed a new Kazekage yet and this was supposed to be a meeting between us and your council." Tsunade said curiously as the man cleared his throat again.

"We apologize for the confusion, however it was in our interest that news of our new leader's appointment not be broken yet. It is actually one of the points of interest in our discussion today. My name is Baki by the way, and I'll be the advisor you'll be speaking to regarding most of the negotiations."

"And do tell why I'll be negotiating with you instead of this supposed Kazekage?" Tsunade asked tauntingly. Just then, the doors to the room opened with three figures striding inside. Naruto turned his head to see the newcomers, barely keeping his composure as he noticed who it was that had just entered. Tsunade's face also held one of surprise on it as one of them took the final open seat across from her, clearing his throat as he looked up at the others.

"I apologize for being late. We can proceed with the meeting now." He said lowly, the room still silent even after his words encouraging the start of conversation.

"First thing first, I would like to introduce you to the newly appointed Fifth Kazekage," Baki spoke out, breaking the silence and motioning over to the person in question. "Gaara."

Tsunade however was still a little speechless, prompting Gaara to take matters into his own hands and address Tsunade first.

"Tsunade-san, I'm glad we're meeting on much better terms than what are previous interactions were based off of. I hope today's negotiations are beneficial for both of our parties." He said, breaking Tsunade out of her stupor as she graced him with a small smile.

"Well let's do our best to make sure that happens," Tsunade said holding her hand out to the side. Shiina immediately reached into her cloak and pulled out scroll, placing it in Tsunade's hand as she unrolled it onto the table. "Now we've discussed internally about what has already been presented by you all in your initial proposal and only have a few things we want to touch base on."

"Please, do tell." Baki said motioning for her to continue.

"First are the matters regarding the funding for Konoha's continued rebuilding. While we appreciate Sunagakure's efforts in terms of monetary and material donations, the problem still stands that Konoha has been put into quite a debt because of the amount of money we've had to expend to repair our village. A debt that has been furthered emphasized because of a lack of missions coming to Konoha." Tsunade said folding her hands underneath her chin.

"And what exactly are you proposing as being a possible solution?" Baki said, eyes narrowing when Tsunade graced him with a small smile.

"It's simple really, we'd like Sunagakure to shift twenty five percent of their future mission earnings to Konoha until the rebuild is complete, which should be in another year or two give or take."

"Twenty five percent?" One of the councilmen exclaimed under his breath. "That's outrageous! There's no way we can agree to those terms!"

Naruto expected there to be more of the same following his words, but to his surprise the rest of the room remained mostly silent after his words. Baki stared across at Tsunade pointedly, his finger rapidly tapping on the table as Tsunade matched it with her smile still in place.

"Twenty five percent? That's your number?" Baki asked with Tsunade nodding her head to confirm. After sharing a quick glance with the man on his right, who nodded slowly, Baki sighed before waving his hand in the air. "Alright, we can live with that number. Twenty five percent of our mission earnings will be giving to Konoha on a monthly basis. Is that ok?"

"Perfect," Tsunade said glancing back down at the scroll. "Now for the next topic of importance: Kawa no Kuni. As of now, Sunagakure and Konohagakure both hold a split stake of the trade enterprises present in the lower half of the country. We want full control over all trade operations that take place under both of our jurisdiction."

Unlike the previous request, this one caused a bit of chatter to rummage throughout the room. Baki's eyes narrowed as Tsunade straightened in her chair, seemingly not at all bothered by the hostile atmosphere that was rising within the room.

Naruto frowned to himself from behind his mask. Kawa no Kuni was a well known trading spot because of its abundance of fertile land and rivers, making it a hot spot for both agricultural and aquatic based goods. Of course you had to deal with Amagakure up north but those guys virtually never ventured outside of their own country and held no stake in the land so they were pretty much a non-factor. While he wasn't sure of the exact profits being made, he knew for sure that the deal with Kawa no Kuni was important to Suna based on the goods they imported alone.

His eyes flickered back down to Tsunade, who was still seated in her chair radianting with utmost confidence, even more so than normally. What exactly was she-no, Konoha in general hoping to gain from this? Wasn't this supposed to be a meeting to help promote the passing of a peace treaty? If anything it looked as though they were ready to start a full blown war. Better yet, he had always heard that Sunagakure was a rather stubborn village all things considered. The people he had met from there already served as a good enough testament to that. Why were they even entertaining these deals that seemingly held no merit for them?

"Tsunade-san," Baki finally called out, bear king Naruto out of his thoughts and silencing the room."Surely you can see why this would be quite a problem for us. The resources gathered from Kawa no Kuni have been shared between our two countries for years. I believe it would be detrimental to either of our sides if one was to lose access to this source of income and materials. I can't in good conscious agree to such a deal, for the sake of Sunagakure as a whole."

"Fair enough, we expected a little pull to be needed on this end. However, this is one of the areas of this proposed treaty that Konoha _isn't_ going to move on. The border between Sunagakure and Kawa no Kuni is known for its crops and vegetations right? We're willing to allow you to keep a designated area that will still produce you a stable income. We simply want to control all of the areas you hold involved with ports and sea work."

"So basically the big money makers…" Naruto overheard another one of the councilmen say. Baki and the older man he had spoken to regarding the previous matter were once again conversing amongst each other, though this the time the conversation was much more feverous as Tsunade continued to wait for their answer patiently. Finally, with a great sigh, Baki motioned for everyone to settle down before addressing her again.

"Suna...will accept your offer. We'll relinquish our share over the western ports to Konoha under the condition that we still hold control over the plantation areas near the border." He said, getting a big smile from Tsunade in return.

"Great, well that gets all of the difficult matters out of the way. Let's get to discussing the rest of the treaty's contents." She said as Shiina handed over another scroll. Looking over her shoulder, Naruto almost fell over after looking at the amount of topics it contained.

' _There's no way we're going to be going through all of these…"_

"Alright, let's just make our way down the list shall we?"

' _...fuck.'_

* * *

Ask anyone about Sasuke Uchiha and one word would come up consistently.

Prodigy.

It was a word he had heard all of his life, whether it was being applied to him or to his older brother before. It used to serve as source of pride for him, something that he would hang his head highly on. It certified his beliefs that he was on track to be one of the best, and even more important, on his way to avenging his clan. As of recent times though, it only served as a source of aggravation for him.

Still, he much preferred it to what people had began referring to him as since the invasion. 'The Village's Hero' was the new moniker he had picked up, and every time he heard it his mood tended to drop a little. Especially seeing as he knew what really went down on that fateful day.

Truth be told, Sasuke still hadn't gotten over the death of Naruto Uzumaki. Countless times he had been told that it wasn't his fault and that there was nothing he could do, but those words irritated him more than they served to ease his conscious. Death was apart of the job, he knew that more than anyone, but in Naruto's case he couldn't help but feel that it was partly on his hands as well.

And so he made a vow. A vow to protect those that mattered to him above all else. That no one would end up suffering the same fate as Naruto if he had a say in the matter, even if that meant putting his own life on the line. That's essentially what the blonde idiot did for him, and looking back on how he treated him, he wasn't exactly sure he even deserved it.

Shaking his head, Sasuke swore to himself after realizing that he once again had gotten lost in his own thoughts. Standing up to his feet, he wiped a small trickle of sweat off of his face, preparing to leave before the sound of movement brought his attention to someone behind him.

"Yo," Kakashi called out walking out from the forestry surrounding him. He whistled to himself as he took a look at the damage that had been done to the land around them. "You were really going at it weren't you kiddo?"

"What do you want Kakashi-sensei, I'm in the middle of something right now." Sasuke replied irritably.

"Really now? It's looks to me as if you were just finishing up with what you were doing, but who am I to make assumptions hm?" Kakashi said walking closer to him. "Jokes aside, this little meeting is about an assignment actually."

"Assignment? Hokage-sama just ordered me to take a little time off." Sasuke said looking at the man skeptically.

"True, however this isn't an assignment we'll be going on right away. It's still being set in motion, I'm just making sure that all they keys are in place so that when we're ready to do this thing there'll be as little hiccups as possible." Kakashi replied fully getting his student's attention now.

"Sounds like it's something big."

"That it is, so listen up. I don't want to have to repeat myself." Kakashi replied tiredly. "The mission you just returned from, the inspection of a shinobi disturbance at Konoha's border? Well, Hokage-sama fears that it might not be just a random occurrence."

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke asked showing a rare interest in something.

"He believes that other villages, or even rag tag groups of shinobi, might be trying to test Konoha's strength after the attack. Two years removed from it and Konoha still hasn't fully recovered. Funds are tight due to the lack of missions coming our way and the expenses we've had in repairing the village. Not to mention casualties were rather high for a one day assault." Kakashi mused aloud, pausing for a moment to let Sasuke take it all in. "Essentially, Konoha is vulnerable. And some people might try to take advantage of that vulnerability."

"Alright, that I can understand well enough. So what is the mission exactly?" Sasuke questioned.

"It's simple really, we're going to be setting up a series of shinobi ran outpost at the borders of areas we believe are most susceptible to an enemy overrun. Our weak points if you will. So far five areas have been decided on, though that number could increase as the operation goes on." Kakashi finished scratching the back of his head. "Now of course that's a simplified explanation of things, but you should be able to get the gist of what's happening from it."

"Yeah, sounds like a big pain in the ass." Sasuke mumbled fingering the sword at his side. "And my part in all of this is?"

"Well seeing as you've already led a mission of a similar nature and Hokage-sama gave me permission to hand pick who I wanted on the job, I'm picking you to be one of the leaders of an outpost." Kakashi said giving him an eye smile. "Congratulations."

"Sounds like a lot of work and unnecessary headache. Do I have a choice?" Sasuke asked exasperatedly. Getting a head shake to show he didn't, he clicked his tongue while running his hand through his hair. "Still, I'm a little confused about some things. Doesn't this seem a little obsessive for a couple of instances? This sounds like it's going to be a pretty big operation, and the shinobi force is already in a little bit of disarray isn't it?"

"Wow, my student is finally beginning to look beneath the surface. I'm proud," Kakashi said in faux pride. "Well my pupil, it's time I school you in your next desperately needed subject: politics."

"Oh great…"

"Oh great indeed," Kakashi said wrapping his arm around the boy. "You see Sasuke, protecting Konoha from potential outside attacks is just one of the reasonings for this operation. The other reason, and arguably the most important one, is to flex Konoha's still existing muscle. Give a little reminder to those out there that we're still a force to be reckoned with."

"And expanding our forces across the areas already under Konoha's control is going to do that?"

"It'll be a start. Right now a lot of jobs are being outsourced to outside competitors because of Konoha's previous inability to accept certain missions for a short period of time after the invasion. People's faith is fickle and in an work environment where basically everything is based on strength and ability, if there's even a little bit of doubt of your capabilities then your entire reputation can burn to the ground. Bad reputation equals lack of jobs, and that equates to the fall of the economy. See where I'm going?" Kakashi said, making sure Sasuke was following. "So in order for us to build our reputation back up, we first have to start with those close to us. These little settlements will allow us to respond to missions and emergency at the drop of dime, gaining back our trust locally which will then spread out to others. Follow?"

"Barely, but whatever." Sasuke said taking the man's arm off from around him. "So when does this start?"

"The outposts are being setup now, so we'll likely be in full bloom by the end of the month." Kakashi replied. "That'll give you two weeks to prepare before things start getting serious."

Sasuke nodded at that, turn to walk away before Kakashi called out for him once again.

"Oh, and Sasuke. Do well enough on this assignment and I'll personally see to it that you're promoted to Jonin. You know, just a little bit of an incentive."

"Hn," Sasuke mumbled, waving over his shoulder as he returned to his compound. Kakashi eye smiled at the boy's retreating figure, pulling out the latest version of Icha Icha Paradise before walking away himself.

"Better catch up on my reading while I can…"

* * *

The meeting in Sunagakure had continued well on into the night, finally ending after all of the matters had been touched on. The good news in this was that they finished earlier than expected, meaning that they could begin their return trip back to Konoha in the morning. Aizen never showed up throughout the course of the meeting, so Naruto and Shiina took it upon themselves to escort a visibly tired Tsunade back to the hotel room. After getting settled, Naruto took up the first shift of perimeter watch, leaving Shiina in the room with Tsunade and Shizune while he traversed the hotel's compound. He currently found himself situated at the highest peak of the hotel's structure, looking up at the moon as his thoughts drifted over to what had transpired throughout the day.

He was fully comfortable with saying that he didn't have any idea of what had just transpired inside of that meeting room. When he had heard that it was in regards to renegotiating the peace treaty between Konoha and Suna, he expected there to be a lot of yelling and screaming on both ends as each one tried to get the better of the other. Instead, Suna basically rolled over and let them have whatever they wanted, or at least it appeared that way from his viewpoint. What's more, he could literally _sense_ that all of the council was against what was going on, but no one dared to step up and contest anything that was taking place outside of a few instances.

He was broken from his thoughts when he caught wind of someone breaking the perimeter. Preparing himself for battle, he paused once he realized whoever it was was coming straight for him. It didn't take long for the familiarity of the person to kick in, with Naruto standing up as Aizen dropped down next to him.

"Yo!" The man called out waving over at Naruto.

"Don't 'Yo' me, where the hell have you been all this time?" Naruto asked in faux anger. Aizen walked over to where he was standing, taking a seat and motioning for him to do the same.

"A separate assignment came up that needed to be taken care of, so I took care of it. Nothing major," Aizen replied with a shrug. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Great, at least I think it did…" Naruto said shaking his head. "The whole thing feels like it went right over my head."

"Yeah, I remember my first time sitting through a politically themed meeting. Felt like I hadn't attended a single academy class in my life, nothing really prepares you for it to be honest." Aizen replied with a chuckle. "What happened?"

"Well...nothing. Sunagakure basically agreed to our every demand. Even the things that seemed a little outrageous to be asking for. Honestly, they didn't put up a fight on a single thing." Naruto said shaking his head in confusion.

"Ah, well we kinda figured that would happen. Looks like me and Cap' was right." Aizen said getting Naruto to look over at him.

"Captain? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked curious to what he and Isshiki had figured out that he missed.

"Well, we figured that with the way things were standing Sunagakure would be pretty much doing everything in their power to prevent a war between us two." Aizen said leaning back to stare up at the stars. "I mean think about this, they had more shinobi casualties than we did and we were the ones being attacked at home. Their Kazekage's dead. They lost their greatest ally, both in us and the Sound, and no other village is going to trust them for the foreseeable future because of the attack. And to top it all off, their pride and joy Jinchuuriki was defeated by two genin, kudo's on that one by the way. Konoha might be theoretically speaking 'weak' right now, but Sunagakure is even weaker than that. The fact of the matter is, if we really wanted to beat Sunagakure into the ground, there wouldn't be anything they could do it about it right now. And to that matter, if anyone _else_ planned on attacking them they would be screwed. Hence, they're making good with us to both prevent a fight and give themselves an ally."

"Wow, I never thought about any of that stuff…" Naruto mused to himself looking forward in thought. "But wait, Sunagakure actually has a new Kazekage now. It's Gaara, we learned about that at the meeting."

"Please, that kid is nothing but a stand in. They likely won't be putting him in the forefront of things for another year or so. The previous Kazekage ran this village with such an iron fist that I doubt the council was even aware of most of the things he was doing. That's why their actions are so hastened now, there so used to everything being taking care of that they have virtually no idea what to do now that things have went to shit." Aizen said waving his finger in the air. "And that's where we come in, using their disarray to get our way on matters that usually wouldn't even be up for discussion, hence today's meeting."

"Wow. Fucking politics man."

"Fucking politics indeed."

Naruto and Aizen both jumped on high alert as they turned to face the newcomer. They were met to the face of Isshiki, clad in his Anbu gear and mask while Shiina stood just a few steps behind.

"C-Captain! What the hell are-er, I mean what are you doing here sir?" Aizen replied back sheepishly while Naruto released the big gulp of air he had taken in after being startled by their arrival.

"I'm here to pick up the rest of my squad, though maybe I should consider leaving two of them behind…" He mumbled while Aizen and Naruto both looked over each other, fearful looks hidden behind their mask. "Anyways, we've got a emergency mission on our hands. You're being pulled from the Tsunade escort job."

"Did something happen back in Konoha?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"No, we're responding to a request from a village in Yuki no Kuni. Apparently a shinobi squadron from Konoha was already sent there but ran into some trouble. We're providing back up."

"Trouble bad enough that they requested an Anbu squadron? The fuck's going on Yuki no Kuni? Hell I didn't even know things happened there in the first place, it's too damn cold." Aizen remarked scratching his head confusedly.

"Be that as it may, the Hokage's assigned us to it so that's where we're headed. As soon as a certain someone-"

"Yo Isshiki-taichou! Yozora Inuzuka reporting for duty!" The remaining member of the group called out as she landed down next to them.

"What took you so long? We traveled here _together_ , how the hell did I lose you from the Gate to here?" Isshiki asked tiredly as Yozora laughed him off.

"I thought I dropped one of my sticky bombs on the ground back there. Must of being seeing things though," She replied scratching the back of her head with a nervous smile in place. "But enough about me, let's get this show on the road!"

"Why do I even…" Isshiki mumbled palming his mask. "Forget it, is everyone ready to move out?"

"Yes sir!" The others called out, minus Shiina who simply nodded her head.

"Alright then. Tora squadron, move out!"

* * *

 **I feel like I tend to disappear for like two months after every 5 chapters. It's a sickness really…**

 **Anyways, for those of you who were waiting, I apologize. And what better a gift to give as an apology than a chapter about politics!**

 **Aye?**

 **Aye?**

 **See you next time.**


	23. Red Snow

**Chapter 23: Red Snow**

* * *

Silence. It was something that Sarutobi had come to appreciate more and more as he aged into the old man that he was today. His life had been filled constantly with noise, whether it be from the sounds of the battlefield or the many voices that were always in his ear during his tenure as Hokage for one reason of another. It was because of this that he had taken up a habit in recent years. Waking up well before most of the other inhabitants of Konoha, he would find himself standing atop the Hokage Tower, gazing out over the horizon as the early signs of the sun rising came through. Aside from the chirping of nearby birds and sounds from other various wildlife surrounding him, he would find himself shrouded in a peaceful, serene silence. It had become one of the highlights of his days.

This was the scene Tsunade was greeted too as she walked up the stairs leading to the roof. Normally she would never be awake at such an hour, but per the request of Sarutobi himself she found herself up and alert as he asked for her to meet him. Walking up to stand beside him, she glanced over at his face only to find that his eyes weren't even open, with only a small smile gracing his features.

"It's quite the view isn't it?" He said quietly. Tsunade grunted in response, turning forward to get a look at what he was referring to.

"It would be if it wasn't so early in the morning. So, What did you want to speak with me about?" She asked leaning down to rest her arms on the bar in front of them.

"I believe you're well aware of what this discussion is going to be about." Sarutobi said chuckling to himself. "I've done everything I can to put the village in the best possible position it can be for the coming days. I've fixed any loose ties that I held during my reign to the best of my abilities. I've provided you with what can potentially be the best weapon throughout all of the elemental nations. As long as we keep him on the right track that is."

"You know I hate when you talk about him like that." Tsunade said lowly cutting him off. "It would probably crush his heart to hear you call him that word."

"Be that as it may, it's the truth. However, he isn't the only topic of our little chat today." Sarutobi said turning to face his student. "It's time Tsunade."

"Your condition hasn't gotten drastically worse in the last few days. If anything you've been looking healthier lately. Why the rush all of a sudden?" Tsunade questioned.

"Because the timing is right, and there's no reason to delay the inevitable any longer. With the success of your newly created medical practices and facilities, as well as your involvement with the peace settlements between us and Sunagakure, the moral support behind you is at an all time high. If there were to be any moment where the people of this village would be comfortable with me passing over my role as Hokage, it would be now. And it would have to be to you."

A silence fell over the two after he was finished talking. Tsunade continued to stare out over the village as the sun began to rise higher, taking in how the activity was beginning to pick up as shops and stores prepared to open.

"The Hokage huh? Never in a million years did I believe I would be taking up the title of the job I hated with such a passion for all this time." Tsunade said lowly. "You know it's funny. It takes looking at this village when it's virtually empty to realize how many lives rest in your hands, and soon to be mines. I don't see how you managed it for as long as you did."

"One of the first steps to being a successful Hokage is to realize that you can't possibly do everything alone. The supporting cast is just as important as the main figure, and luckily for you you have great group behind you." Sarutobi said smiling over at her. "Besides, I may be stepping down but it's not like I'll be disappearing completely. I'll be here to help you in whatever ways that I can."

"You'd better be, or else this is all doomed to fail." Tsunade mumbled standing straight to stretch. "Well, that's one thing. You said there was something else you wanted to inform me about as well?"

"Ah yes, there was something else to discuss now wasn't there," Sarutobi said clearing his throat. "Well, as you are aware a certain someone has been released back into the working field now."

"Naruto? What about it?" Tsunade questioned while Sarutobi's smile widened.

"Me and Jiraiya have both personally been seeing to it that he has grown stronger over the last two years with our training, and while I'm happy to say that we were a success in that regard, some of his... _behavioral_ aspects were a little more difficult to curve."

"Ok, and what the hell does that mean exactly?"

"Well, as you know the original reasoning for Naruto's death was to throw the Akatsuki and any other parties that could be interested in him off of his tail and discourage them from coming to Konoha in search of him while simultaneously preparing him for their eventual meeting." Sarutobi continued. "We've already confirmed that the Akatsuki has been in close contact with him, and in reality could have taken him if they wanted too. Couple that with the fact that we can now certainly say there is a rat in Konoha's system, extreme measures had to be taken in order to ensure his safety. However, now that we believe he'll be able to handle himself adequately against those that will be coming for him…"

"You're planning to revoke his death now?" Tsunade asked piecing together where his words were going. "I thought this was meant to be a three year process?"

"Originally it was, however that boy grew at a pace far faster than we initially expected. With having nothing better than to do with his time than training and the added motivation that he needed to be stronger to protect his friends and comrades, it seems as though he managed to tap into another gear all together. It's truly astonishing." Sarutobi said shaking his head in disbelief. "As for the information being leaked, Jiraiya has narrowed down the potential source enough to the point where it's simply a matter of when we will take action. As it stands there's no point in prolonging his hiding."

"The whole situation still seems extreme to me. Imagine the mental toll that must have taken on him, not to mention we don't know how everyone will react to suddenly finding out the person they mourned for these past two years was alive the whole time." Tsunade commented shaking her head.

"Drastic times call for drastic measures. It's something I always emphasized in your teachings didn't I?" Sarutobi replied quietly. "It was for his protection, and the village's as well. We couldn't risk any other attacks coming our way, and there would be many who would jump at the chance to take a Biju for their own."

"Besides, that's all stuff that'll brush over sooner than later. You can't argue with the results, kid's a monster now."

Turning around, Tsunade grunted to herself as Jiraiya walked up to join them. Nestling himself in between the two, he gave Tsunade a quick grin before continuing on. "Long time no see Tsunade-hime, how've you been?"

"So exactly how strong is he now? I didn't really get to gage anything during our trip to Sunagakure." Tsunade asked Sarutobi completely ignoring Jiraiya, who pouted in response.

"Actually, I believe Jiraiya would be better equipped for answering that question than me. He was the one who oversaw the last few months of his training after all." Sarutobi replied looking over at his student. Tsunade did the same, raising an eyebrow after noticing the huge grin he held on his face.

"Let's just say that it won't be long before word spreads that a certain blonde hair Jinchuuriki is alive and well." Jiraiya said, turning to look out over the village. "Especially considering where we just sent him."

* * *

Standing on top of a high sitting tree branch, Naruto peered out over the landscape in front of him while blowing into both of his hands. They were officially in Yuki no Kuni, and so far the place was holding up to its name. The entire land in front of him was covered in pure, white snow. He had to admit, if anything was to classify as being a 'breathtaking view', this was certainly it.

"Naruto," Aizen called out appearing next to him. "We're getting ready to head back out. Captain wants to speak with you before we do though."

"Right." Naruto replied hopping back down to the ground where the others were. Isshiki motioned him over, though his focus was clearly more so on the scroll in front of him than Naruto. "You called Captain?"

"That I did," Isshiki said closing the scroll and placing it inside of his robe. "I'll keep this short; what exactly has the Hokage conversed with you about regarding interacting with the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki? Well…" Naruto mumbled, quickly flipping through all of their discussions over the last two years. "I'm not supposed to seek them out unless directly told so by Hokage-sama himself. If I was to happen to run into them, I should gage the situation and decided whether or not it would be smart to engage with them or not. If things get to heavy, I pull out. Otherwise, I should treat it just like any other battle. Why?"

' _Any other battle huh? Yeah, there's definitely something Hokage-sama's not telling me about this fact that he doesn't have to flee on sight means he's confident enough in his abilities that can hold his own against an S-rank shinobi. So far he hasn't shown me anything that gives me the same belief.'_ Isshiki thought to himself. "The reason I asked is-actually, it's probably best if the others hear this as well."

Turning, Isshiki motioned for the rest of the group to converge around him, Aizen speaking up as he crossed his arms over his chest and stood irritably.

"Are you finally gonna' tell us what the hell this mission is about, and why it was so important that we had to drop an already ongoing assignment for it when they could've sent in some other squad?" He asked in a mocking voice.

"Wow, it's somebody's time of the month isn't it?" Yozora said, grinning furthur after Aizen gave her the finger. "Right back at ya' sweetheart!"

"Kiss my ass you-"

"Isshiki-taichou is trying to speak." Shiina called out quietly but sternly, stopping the two from breaking out into one of their patented back and forths.

"Think you Shiina-chan," Isshiki called out smiling over at her. "Anyways, there's a reason of course why Hokage-sama decided it was necessary to send in an Anbu group for backup.

"A couple of years back there was incident here involving the shinobi village around these parts, Yukigakure. The details of that event don't really matter to the mission, but what does matter is that Konoha helped out with that incident, and that Yukigakure and Yuki no Kuni as a whole came under a new leadership." Isshiki started off.

"Koyuki Kazahana right?" Naruto interrupted, getting stares from the others. "I knew the people who were on the team that helped out back then. It was interesting so I kept up with it on my free time."

"You poor, poor, soul. Watching your friends move on to greater achievements while you were shoved into the deepest recesses of the Anbu compound, training day in and day out to protect yourself from a burden you never asked for…"

"Oi, are you mocking m-"

"If you two idiots don't shut the hell up and let me finish I'm going to have Shiina cut of the circulation to a very _precious_ area on both of you." Isshiki gritted out. Taking comfort in Naruto and Aizen's silence, he cleared his throat before continuing. "As I was saying, with the new leadership in place there were plans to change the terrain here from an eternal winter to a more tropical, spring like habitat."

"Why would the Akatsuki have a problem with that?" Naruto asked.

"We're not for sure, but there were rumors floating around of them having a potential hide out somewhere within the land. Not only that, but in the black market there's been talk of a faction that's still against the idea and is willing to dish out big bucks to stop it. Double the incentive for the Akatsuki." Isshiki answered. "We're still not entirely sure whether it's them or not though, so be prepared for anything."

"Man, sending you on a mission where you're almost certain to run into the people you've been hiding from. Hokage-sama must be pretty confident in your abilities." Yozora said looking over at Naruto. Isshiki looked down at him as well, but Naruto was too busy avoiding Yozora's leer to notice. "Was somebody perhaps holding out in our little spar back then?"

"Regardless, it's time for us to start moving again. The village is only about an hour or so away from here, we should be able to make it before noon." Isshiki said reaching up to fix his mask in place. "Mask's on and code names only from here on out."

The group disappeared from the area, the only tracks of them being there soon covered up by the snow fall.

* * *

As expected the shinobi presence surrounding Yukigakure was heavy. That would have been a problem had they been here on an espionage or infiltration mission, but seeing as they were technically there for Konoha based business, it was only required that they met with an official from the village.

"We've got a group of three coming up. Must be them." Yozora called out as they began to slow down.

"Good, we won't have to bother with actually entering the village then. That saves us a lot of trouble." Isshiki said motioning for them to fall into formation behind him. They slowed down from light trot to a walking pace as the three figures came closer into view.

"You must be the backup unit sent in by Konoha," one of the men spoke up walking forward. Isshiki did the same, moving the cape on his back to the side just enough to show off his Anbu sign before covering it again. The man nodded at the showing before handing over a small scroll. "Detailings of where everything is taking place are inside. The group of shinobi you sent previously just left out a few minutes ago along with some of ours to investigate a third disturbance possibly occurring."

"What about the first and second?" Isshiki asked looking over the scroll.

"Happened a little over two weeks ago. Reports were that a single individual was spotted around the facility were the warming project is taking place. We dispatched a group to pursue but…" The man said trailing off towards the end. "It was a massacre. Six of our best shinobi were executed brutally in a matter of minutes. It was after that that we sent in the request for backup from Konoha. The second incident came after their arrival, though this time there were two attackers. They were overpowered as well, one of them was even left in critical condition back in the village. After that, I'm guessing they called you guys in."

"How long ago did they depart?"

"Not long, maybe about twenty minutes before now. It's not a far travel from here, the facility is located just south of the village." The man said moving out of their way. "If I were you I would hurry. It's no telling what you're in store for when you get there. One of the men who returned kept mumbling about an 'immortal' or something like that. Poor bastard was scared into hysteria…"

Isshiki nodded at his words, motioning for the others to follow after him as they took off to their destination.

"An entire village can't handle two attackers? Even for them to be in the Akatsuki that sounds a little odd." Aizen said once they were out of hearing distance.

"Yukigakure isn't an established shinobi village yet. It only officially became recognized as one since it fell under new leadership two years ago. It's not likely that they have a strong shinobi presence yet, so it's within the realm of possibility that two likely S-class shinobi could be too great a threat for them to handle." Shiina spoke out for the first time in awhile. Aizen was about to remark on that little fact until Naruto tensed, the sudden change not going unnoticed by Isshiki.

"What's the matter Husky?"

"I'm sensing some really sinister chakra up ahead. It's...six of them? I thought the report said there was only two enemies?" Naruto asked curiously looking over at Isshiki.

"It did, they must have been brought in reinforcements." Isshiki said thinking himself. "Panda, think you can get us a visual?"

"Right," Shiina called out activating her Byakugan. "There's six people still standing, four deceased from what I can tell. I recognize four as being Konoha shinobi, the other two…"

"What is it?" Called out noticing she had gone quiet.

"Well, there are two unidentifiable people there. One of them however has multiple chakra signatures coming from him. Different chakra signatures."

"That must be what I sensed earlier…" Naruto said to himself, squinting his eyes as they began to come closer to where the battle was taking place. "Plan?"

"No time, the enemy is gearing up for another attack and it looks like two of our shinobi are down already. We need to act now." Shiina said looking over at Isshiki.

"Alright then. Husky, Bull, Crow, you're responsible for halting their attack. Me and Panda will make sure the others are secured before joining you in the fight. Everyone clear?" He called getting a resounding 'yes sir' in response. "Then let's do it."

* * *

" _Listen kid, there's no problem that can't be solved by thinking it out. That holds especially true for you. Your brain is your greatest asset, so use it to its fullest capabilities. There's nothing you can't do as long as you put your mind to it."_

This was one of the many quotes Shikamaru had retained from his talks with his fathers, and was specifically one of the more inspirational ones he could recall. There were times where he felt like it was total bullshit, but he'd be lying if he said that it didn't help him push through some tough times in his life.

This wasn't one of those times. Right now, it was _really_ sounding like a lot of bullshit.

The mission to Yukigakure was troublesome enough when it was first explained back in Konoha. It was the first mission he would be leading that actually took him out of the village's direct influence, so that was enough to make him hesitant. Not only that, but there was almost a guaranteed expectation of combat considering the parameters of the assignment, which was always more work than he was willing to put in. Still, the Hokage believed he was up for it, and he had a group of people working with him that he knew were capable. It was his hope that things would maybe run a little smoothly this time around. It had been for the last two years after all. Why would that change now?

Grunting, he looked over to his left to see Neji kneeling beside him, panting heavily with a small trail of blood leaking out from his mouth. His Byakugan wasn't active, no doubt a sign of how exhausted he was as he kept his eyes centered on the two people in front of them. He could hear the buzzing of Shino's bugs behind him, positioned just in front of an erratically breathing Kiba who was down for the count. The back up shinobi they had from Yukigakure were already dead and they were down a person with Tenten still being in the village because of her injuries.

"Shino, can you move?" He asked lowly, glancing back at him as he tried to rise off of his knee. Falling back to the ground, the bug user shook his head to show he couldn't as he clutched at a wound in his left leg.

"I'll only be able to provide long ranged support, though even that will be limited because of the snowfall. My insects can't move as freely as they wish too." Shino replied back to him.

"They're preparing to move again…" Neji called out noticing one of them stepping forward.

"Well boys, it's been fun but I'm afraid I'm going to have to end things here." The women called out holding her fist up in front of her face. A light, glowing ball of fire began to circle around it, her eyes switching between Neji and Shikamaru as she seemingly played with it in mid air. "Now who wants to go first?"

"How about you flip a coin?" Shikamaru drawled out as he pulled out his final kunai from his pouch. The women chuckled at his words and was about to retort when the man behind her spoke up.

"Pakura, hurry and finish this up. I'd like to get back to a more _warmer_ climate before the day is over if that's at all possible." He said folding his arms over his chest. Pakura snorted at his words before turning back to face the two.

"Honestly, you Akatsuki men are no fun. Way to ruin the mood Kakuzu-chan." She muttered. Clenching her fist further, three more balls of fire appeared, now swirling around her entire body as she rose both of her hands into the air. "Still, your wish is my command."

' _This is really it huh? Sorry father, but it doesn't look like I can think my way out of this one.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself. However, he still rose back up to his feet, glaring over at Pakura while holding the kunai in front of him. _'Guess I might as well do something reckless. Nothing else left to lose.'_

Taking a deep breath, he was about to charge forward when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Before he could register what was happening, an explosion rocked throughout the area, originating in the very spot where Pakura was standing. He was hoisted several feet back, looking over to see that whoever had grabbed hold of him had took Neji as well. It wasn't until they landed back on the ground that he was able to get a good luck at the person.

' _An Anbu mask?'_

"Stay down and out of the line of fire, we'll be taking over from here out." The man said through his Hawk shaped mask. Looking over, he saw that both Kiba and Shino had been grabbed as well, currently being put down by a much smaller figure.

"The other two targets are secure." Shiina called out from behind her mask. Isshiki nodded at her before looking back to where the others were.

"Let's join up with the others and take down the targets, then we can-"

"Wait," Shikamaru croaked out, breaking into a coughing fit while Isshiki turned to look back down at him. Now that back up had arrived, the adrenaline pumping through his body had all but stopped, leaving him to feel just how exhausted he truly was. "T-they've planted e-explosives."

"Explosives? What do you mean?" Isshiki asked kneeling down next to him. He had to wait for Shikamaru to finish up another coughing fit before he continued.

"At the construction site where they're building the heat generators, they mentioned that there were already explosives being set in place." Shikamaru mumbled out as Isshiki looked over at Shiina.

"If they've already planted explosives why haven't they detonated them?"

"There was an issue when they first arrived, something went wrong with the detonation process. That's why they retreated in the first place." Shikamaru said looking over at them. "The plan was to intercept them on their way to the site when they returned, but somehow they got through Yukigakure's defenses. By the time we engaged with them, they were already heading back."

"Which means…" Isshiki trailed off seeing what Shikamaru was alluding. "How many generators are there?"

"Three in total, spaced out a few feet apart. Likely three different bomb sites for each one." Shikamaru answered. Standing back up to his feet, Isshiki motioned for Shiina to follow after him as he prepared to take off.

"Take the injured and get back to Yukigakure. Like I said, we'll take over things from here."

On the other end, Naruto, Aizen and Yozora were all staring across at Pakura and Kakuzu, who eye'd the newcomers back curiously.

"Konoha's Anbu? They're really going all out for some newly developed wasteland village hidden in the snow." Kakuzu muttered. Pakura had jumped back to stand at his side, though it was more so to avoid the explosion from the set of explosive tags than anything else.

"They always were a friendly little bunch, sticking their nose in things they weren't involved in." Pakura said brushing some hair out of her face. "While it sounds like a swell time, I don't really feel like taking on an entire Anbu squadron on my own. Time for you to tap in and do some work Kakuzu-san."

Isshiki and Shiina landed next to the others, with Isshiki wasting no time in dishing out orders.

"Bull and Crow, you're going with Panda to handle a potential bomb situation at the generator sites. Locate and defuse them if you can. However, your lives take priority over this task. If there's nothing you can do or to little time, then pull back." Isshiki said looking across at the their two enemies. "Me and Husky will stay back and handle things here."

"You sure it's a good idea to keep him around them? I mean, aren't they supposed to be trying to capture him?" Yozora questioned lowly.

"Yes. Now move." Isshiki said sternly. Nothing else needed to be conversed as the three immediately disappeared from site. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as the group zoomed past him, but kept them peeled on Naruto and Isshiki nonetheless.

"Alright Husky, I was told you were instructed on the identity and abilities of a lot of their members and how to deal with them. Is that true?" Isshiki asked lowly. Naruto nodded to confirm his words, getting Isshiki to stand up a little straighter. "Me and you are at the very least going to hold these two off until the others get back, maybe put em' down if we can. If things get to crazy, I'll serve as a distraction while you get away."

"So that's why you kept me here." Naruto said, more of a confirming statement than a question.

"That and we don't exactly know what the others are getting into over there. At the very least your chances of survival are almost guaranteed if you stick with me." Isshiki said quietly.

"Oh brother, are neither one of you going to make a move? Fine, I guess the _woman_ will have to start things off." Pakura exclaimed. In a burst of speed, she closed the distance between her and the others, two kunai's clashing as she was met by Isshiki. "You can have the shorter one Kakuzu, I'm taking this guy."

"It's only two of them, do I really still need to step in?" Kakuzu said with a sigh. Eyes flickering over to Naruto, he sized the boy up for a quick moment before cracking his neck on both sides. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to make this quick. I have no intention of staying in this wasteland any longer than I have too."

' _Remember kid, all of these guys are seasoned veterans, the best of the best. Even if you're only going against one of them, holding back can be the difference between you returning home safely or getting the life sucked out of you. In short, don't fuck around.'_

Jiraiya's words rang throughout his head as Naruto settled into a fighting position. His adrenaline was pumping and he could feel his heartbeat racing. The sounds of Isshiki and Pakura's fight happening nearby drowned out as his attention solely focused in on the threat in front of him.

This was it. This was what he had been training for over the last two years. This was what he had been _missing_ confined inside of the Anbu compound for all this time. The thrill of a real battle, knowing that your life was on line. That at any given moment, he could either be taking a life or losing his own. It was almost overwhelming. Still, he hadn't felt as comfortable as he did now in years.

This was his element.

He flicked a shuriken that was easily swatted aside by Kakuzu. He used the small distraction to get in close, preparing for upper cut that was once again dodged by the older man. They engaged in a short burst of taijutsu sparring, with Kakuzu entirely on the defensive as Naruto continued to throw a barrage of punches and kicks in his direction.

Growing a little tired of the act, Kakuzu caught one of his punches and held the boy in place. He launched a punch directly into his stomach, preparing to toss him away when suddenly he turned into a cloud of smoke.

' _A shadow clone? But when-'_ Kakuzu thought to himself before his instincts told him to move to the side. A wolf made out of lightning crashed down to where he was previously standing, changing its direction and chasing after him while he performed a set of seals. **"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"**

The barrier shot out from under the ground and stopped the jutsu in its place, the lightning dispersing as it collided with the structure. Kakuzu slid to a stop, eyes scanning the area quickly in an attempt to locate the boy. He barely managed to catch a blur coming from his peripheral vision and moved just in time to dodge a strike from Naruto aimed directly for his head. He put some distance between them with a series of flips before coming to a stop, looking across at the younger shinobi.

"You've got my blood running a little bit kid. Not bad at all." Kakuzu said standing up straight.

"I've got a question." Naruto said righting himself as well. "Why didn't you try to stop the three that went towards the generators?"

"Because I couldn't be bothered to." Kakuzu said plainly. "Besides, by the time they make it there that place should be up in flames, hopefully catching them within it."

Before Naruto could retort, Kakuzu decided it was his turn to go on the offensive. His speed caught Naruto off guard as he made his way over to where he was standing in the snap of a finger, grabbing the boy by his throat and lifting him up into the air. "Your inexperience is showing child, you should never let your guard down in a battle."

"Trust me, I know…" Naruto croaked out reaching up to clutch at his arm. "And you should really stop underestimating me."

A spark circled around his hand before transferring itself down Kakuzu's arm, shocking the man and forcing him to drop Naruto who took the opportunity to put some distance between them.

"Elemental manipulation without hand signs. Impressive." Kakuzu said shaking his arm to remove the lingering effects. "You know what, I change my mind. You and I are going to have a little fun together, It's been awhile since I've had a good exercise anyways."

Naruto was about to retort before Kakuzu dropped down to the ground, sticking the tips of both of his fingers into it as he continued to stare him down. His curiosity was beginning to peak when sensed something moving towards him under the ground. He jumped back just as a series of tendrils shot out from where he was previously standing.

' _What the hell is that?! Worms? Cause that's seriously gross if it is.'_ Naruto said, not breaking his stride as the tendrils continued to follow after him. He reached behind his back and grabbed his Wakizashi, a blade that was gifted to him by Sarutobi a year into their training. Channeling a small amount of chakra into it, he pulled it out in a quick slashing motion in the direction of the tendrils. A small blade of air erupted from his swipe, cleaning cutting through the tendrils and stopping their onslaught. Slowly, Kakuzu lifted himself up from the ground, his arms coming back towards his body from underneath the ground.

Abruptly a small explosion took place next to where they were standing, breaking Naruto out of his battle stupor as he remembered there was another one taking place next to them. Kakuzu eyes briefly glanced over at the fire show as well, narrowing as the explosion brought another thought to mind.

' _It shouldn't have taken this long for Deidara's explosives to go off. I highly doubt the other Konoha shinobi were able to both reach the area and come up with a way to defuse them this quickly…'_ Kakuzu said, shifting his eyes back over to Naruto. He grunted once he noticed that the boy was gearing up to attack him again.

This mission was starting to become more trouble than it was worth. And for someone like Kakuzu, that was a lot.

* * *

"Panda, you see anything yet? We're not going to be running into anymore surprises again are we?" Aizen called out from the side of her. Shiina squinted her eyes a little lower, straining her byakugan as far as it could go to get a visual.

"I can see the three generators but…" Shiina trailed off, slowing down with the others following suit.

"What is it?" Yozora asked looking over at the younger girl.

"I can see multiple chakra signatures coming from each of the generators, but it's weird. On one of the generators the chakra is slowly depleting, on another it's stagnant, and the one to the far left has signatures that are slowly rising."

"Are those the explosives?" Aizen said crossing his arms. "Sounds like a few of them are malfunctioning again. Man, aren't these guys supposed to be the best of the best?"

"Looks like they're using chakra based timed explosives. If that's the case, then they're running on a seal that slowly leaks out chakra until it reaches the point of detonation." Yozora commented, lost in thought. "If I had to make a judgement call, I'd say that the only reason they're using timed explosives in the first place was so that they would have enough time to escape without being caught in the blast. If that's the case it would appear that all three are malfunctioning, even the one that's still managing to leak chakra."

"Ok, so what are we going to do? Should we each split up and take one generator each?" Aizen asked. Yozora hummed to herself before turning to address Shiina again.

"Can you tell how many bombs there are in total on each generator and how long you think it'll take to neutralize them?"

"I can't give you an exact number, but I can say that there's a lot on all three. Not to mention each generator is huge," Shiina said shaking her head and looking back over at her teammate. "If we each split up and take one, it's going to take us at least a few minutes to diffuse them all."

Yozora turned her eyes back forward, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what would be the best course of action.

"Damn it, we don't have any choice. There's no time to just stand around, we're making a move now," She said taking off in a sprint with the other two following suit. "Listen, right now the other two don't pose a threat so I want us to focus on the one generator with the explosives that are still working. Understood?"

"Right!"

The trio broke into the clearing, sprinting towards the sight of the generators while simultaneously marveling at the sight of them. Each one was easily taller than the largest building in Konoha, which was to be expected seeing as they were meant to warm an entire frozen village. They quickly scaled over the large gate that surrounded the perimeter, dropping down to the other side and continuing their run to the structure on the far right. It didn't take long for them to notice that most of the snow was red in color, no doubt a result of the countless bodies that littered the area.

"Shit, it must be at least 30 of them here…" Aizen mumbled as they continued to traverse through them. "Think any of them survived?"

"Doesn't really matter of they did or didn't at this point. Stay focused." Yozora said coldly as they finally came to a stop in front of the giant structure. She walked up closer to it, looking it over before her eyes spotted something stuck to the surface. Walking up to it, she realized it was a small glob of clay with a little black seal written on it. Studying it for a minute, she placed two of her fingers onto the seal and released a small burst of chakra into the center. The seal briefly glowed red before turning into a soft gray color, showing that it had been disrupted.

"Alright, you two take the back half and I'll do the front. It looks like they have these things spreaded out all the way up to the top of the structure, so make sure you don't miss a single one. Just a little chakra pumped into the seal should be enough to disrupt it. Got it?" She asked getting a nod from the other two. "Let's get too it then, when you finish immediately move to the next generator."

Nothing else needed to be said as the group quickly dispersed to to complete the job.

* * *

Kakuzu was at the moment not a happy camper.

It wasn't enough that the bombs supplied by Deidara, which he _swore_ on his own honor were the best around, had malfunctioned not only once, but apparently twice. It wasn't enough that Konoha had all of sudden decided to get in their way and make their job just that much harder. It wasn't enough that he had to spend the last few weeks dealing with Pakura, who _really_ made him regret killing his last partner.

No, none of that was enough apparently. Now he had to deal with this brat infront of him. This brat who, while he admittedly wasn't going full out, was giving him much more trouble than he could have ever expected.

He clutched harder at an open wound in his chest. He had managed to get him alright. Which heart did he keep right there again? Ah. Lightning. That one was one of his favorites, and it was pretty difficult to collect. It was a bummer for sure, so much so that he could almost literally feel his blood boiling.

He was going to kill this kid. That much he had already concluded. Now it was just a matter of figuring out how exactly he wanted to go about doing so. Slow or fast? Gruesome or clean? He seemed to have a lightning affinity himself, so maybe he would take his heart as repayment for the one that was stolen him. Yeah, that was probably the best course of action.

While Kakuzu was pondering this in his mind, Naruto was watching him stiffly while reseathing his blade. He had struck him dead in the heart, he was sure of that. Yet the older man didn't even seem to bat an eye, let alone keel over and die like he was expecting.

So this was Kakuzu the immortal. Looking closely, Naruto was berating himself for not figuring that out earlier seeing as he was pretty much identical to his to picture in the missing-nin handbook.

' _Out of all the Akatsuki members to run into first, it would be him now wouldn't it?'_ Naruto groaned inside his head. This just wasn't fair. Even if he was stronger than Kakuzu, which he still wasn't exactly sure that he was, he would have to best him four more times for this battle to be over. Kakuzu only needed one with him.

Grunting, Kakuzu removed his hand to show that his chest was now completely healed. His eyes stared over at Naruto icely, reaching up to unzip his Akatsuki jacket before tossing it to the side.

"I must say, you've impressed me. I'm curious to see who it is hiding behind that little mask though." Kakuzu said cracking his neck. "Take it off."

"Can't do that sir," Naruto said, his danger radar going off as he fell into a defensive style. "Protocol and all."

"I see," Kakuzu said closing his eyes. "I'll just have to take it myself then."

Naruto dodged the first punch and barely missed the second before making a quick sign and bringing a clone into existence. It circled around back, hoping to split Kakuzu's attention and use the confusion to create an opening. Kakuzu however expertly managed to balance the attacks coming from both of them, even managing to throw his own jabs in here and there. Two tendrils shot out of his neck, one piercing the clone in the chest while Naruto once again narrowly dodged it.

Falling into a roll on the ground, he thrusted both of his palms in Kakuzu's direction and launched a huge blast of wind towards him. Kakuzu held both arms up to help block out some of the force, keeping his eyes open still to watch what the blonde was planning next. Because of this he was prepared when the stream of lightning erupted from the ground around Naruto and in his direction. He jumped to the side and retreated backwards, his arm detaching and launching out at Naruto. He gripped him by the neck again and pushed him into the ground before bringing itself back in. He could feel the tingle coming and quickly released Naruto before he could be shocked again.

Righting himself, Naruto was about to gear up for another attack when he noticed a bulge coming out from Kakuzu's back. That bulge changed to two before two sets of tendrils exploded from...somewhere.

"What the fuck…" Naruto whispered to himself for what felt like 100th time that day. The tendrils continued to pour out, slowly taking on a form of their own before they completely separated from his body. Two masks emerged from the black masses, zeroing in on Naruto as Kakuzu righted himself.

"I sense a little fear in you," Kakuzu said lowly, walking forward. "I don't blame you."

The mouth of one of the creatures opened, small flame being the only signal Naruto had before a stream of fire shot out from its mouth in his direction. He dodged to the side and prepared to attack himself when he was forced to move again after a jet of water blasted his new resting place. Retreating backwards, he could see the two black figures chasing after him, both of their mouths open in preparation for another attack.

' _Ok think Naruto think, how the hell do I deal with those two...things? Actually, what the hell even are those things?!'_

Slipping out two kunai, he launched them at both of the figures. They exploded on contact with both of them, taking out a sizeable portion of each ones mass while Naruto slid to a stop to observe what happened next. He clicked his teeth once he noticed that the once vacant areas were quickly filled back up with a new set of tendrils.

"Figures it wouldn't be that easy, still there has to be a weak point somewhere…"

"Forget about me?"

Naruto's eyes widened, turning in time to catch a kunai aiming straight for his neck. He repressed the urge to yell out in pain as the blade pierced right through his hand, instead settling for a low growl in the back of his throat while the two struggled against each other. He noticed from the corner of his eye that the two masses weren't attacking him, instead floating around the two from a distance.

' _They must not want to risk hurting him-no, it's him that doesn't want to risk himself being hurt.'_ Naruto mused to himself. He kicked his legs out in a sweeping motion, forcing Kakuzu to jump away while he did the same. He pulled the kunai out from his hand with a grimace, trying and failing to make a fist with his now injured hand. "Well that just made this ten times harder…"

With one hand he brought ten clones into play; all of them splitting their attention between either Kakuzu or the two beasts. For a moment there was a small stand still, with neither party particularly keen on making a move against the other.

Wind slowly began to gather around Naruto's left hand, along with his clones. His eyes were focused on Kakuzu's, who was staring back with equal force. From the left, he could just make out the beginning signs of the tiger creature moving, its mouth open with flames leaking out from it.

Naruto decided it was time to make his move. Simultaneously his clones all lifted their hands up as the tell tale sign of the miniature tornado formed around his arm. Kakuzu was about to react when he realized just what technique the boy was using, his eyes widening in recognition while Naruto launched his attack.

" **Wind Gale Thrust Barrage!"** He yelled out, all of his clones firing off the techniques together. Three went in the direction of the two masked creatures while the last four went to Kakuzu himself. The masked beings to their credit had no issue dodging the attacks, simply opening themselves up and allowing the miniature drills to pass through them. Kakuzu however had to make a concerted effort to dodge each one of them, narrowly avoiding the last one by jumping into the air.

' _That's a pretty troublesome technique he has there,'_ He thought to himself, broken out of it when the sound of something whirling caught his ear. Trying his best to turn in around in mid air, it was too late as he felt a searing pain tearing into his back.

" **Rasengan!"** Naruto yelled out, the sphere tearing a hole through Kakuzu's back and out through his chest. With his last bit of strength, Kakuzu created a single sign with his left hand as he turned around, Naruto's attack preparing to propel him to the ground.

" **Earth Release: Earth Spear!"** He yelled out. His hardened fist struck directly onto Naruto's mask, both being knocked in the opposite directions by the their respective attacks. Kakuzu slammed into the ground, dragging across it until the water masked creature came to his aid and stopped him. Naruto on the other hand managed to right himself after his collision, breaking into a roll before righting himself on one knee and a fist.

He look over to where Kakuzu was laying, the left half of his mask now cracked off and exposing his face. A cut on the top of his eye leaked blood into it, momentarily preventing him from seeing out of it. He watched exasperatedly as the mass of tendrils from the water mask entered inside of Kakuzu, no doubt the 'heart replacing' technique he had heard about. The fire mask stood right above him, seemingly daring Naruto to interfere with the process.

Once it was finished, Kakuzu spent a little more time on the ground then what was needed. He peered up into the sky, eyes unbothered by the semi-heavy snowfall that had begun to take place.

He had been careless again.

It would be the _last_ time.

His body began to unhinge itself, tendrils leaking out from all over while Naruto stood back up to his full height. His eyes locked in on Naruto's, not showing the unbridled rage he was feeling. They were cold and emotionless, the type of eyes that you could only gain from years upon years of battle experience. From seeing the worst of the worst.

Naruto had only seen one other person in his life who had a look that was comparable, and it was the Third Hokage. It was at this moment, not from his realization that Kakuzu really stood up to his immortal label or or from the countless stories he had heard from Jiraiya and Lord Third, but this moment that truly showed him how powerful the Akatsuki really were. The fact that a shinobi of Kakuzu's level wasn't even the top of the barrel was terrifying to think about.

A small smile tugged at his lips.

He was prepared. These past two years of pain had not been put to waste. Had this been the Naruto from before he would be shaking in his boots just thinking of the challenges that was ahead of him, but he was different now. He was ready now.

And so, as he flung off the final half of his mask and fell down into his fighting stance, only one thought traversed through his mind.

He was going to win this fight. There was absolutely no doubt that he was going to win it.

Kakuzu's eyes lit up with recognition once he got a full view of Naruto's face. The blue eyes, the blonde mop of hair that was admittedly longer than advertise, and most importantly, the three whisker marks on each cheek. He would have bursted into laughter if his ego hadn't been as bruised as it was currently.

This was Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox. The boy who had for the span of two years seemingly dropped off from the face of the earth, to the point of where the Akatsuki were actually close to believing the boy had truly died. All this time spent searching and he had fallen right into their lap.

Kakuzu couldn't resist. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"This explains so much. Honestly, everything is much clearer now." He said, his body slowly returning back to its normal state. The lone fire mask that remained slammed into his back, becoming one with the man again while Naruto stood up from his stance, still on edge.

"Are you giving up?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow and watching Kakuzu walk over to where he heals dropped his robe.

"Hardly. It's simply a matter of something more important needing to be addressed." Kakuzu said zipping his robe back up to his neck. Before Naruto could press forward, an explosion in the distance rocked throughout area, shaking the area Naruto and Kakuzu occupied with so much force that Naruto had to make a concerted effort to stay afloat.

"That can't be…" Naruto mumbled in disbelief watching the cloud of smoke rising in the distance.

"It would appear our mission here is complete." Kakuzu said also watching the spectacle. His eyes switched back over to Naruto, who wisely returned his focus as well. "We'll continue this fight later boy. As of now, there's a profit to be made."

Naruto tried to make a dash forward to stop him, but a flaming ball flying in his path forced him to retreat. Pakura landed next to Kakuzu, bloodied up and tattered yet very much still in a good mood.

"We're leaving now right?" She asked, glancing over at Naruto before doing a double take once she saw who he was. "Wait, isn't that-"

"Yes, and no, we're still leaving" Kakuzu said turning to walk away. "Let's go."

He disappeared from the area, Pakura giving Naruto one last glance before disappearing as well. He debated on following after them for a moment, but decided against it when he remembered the explosion that just took place.

"Damn it, wait where's captain Isshiki?" Naruto mumbled looking around the clearing. As if saying his name had spoke him into existence, Isshiki dropped down next to Naruto, looking just as battered and bruised as Pakura had before him.

"You're good? That's good," Isshiki breathed out clutching at his rib. "We need to go check on the others…"

Isshiki fell out after saying those words, almost collapsing into the snow until Naruto stepped in and grabbed him. "Oh no no no no no no no, don't do this to me now Isshiki-taichou," Naruto groaned hefting the unconscious man on his shoulder. He was still breathing, which was at least one positive seeing as he probably already had enough team casualties to deal with.

"We need to check on the others…" Naruto said, giving Isshiki a shake to see if he could rouse the man. With no look, he let out a deep sigh before hefting him back on his shoulder and running towards bomb sight.

He _really_ hoped this wasn't indicative of what his ANBU career would consist of. For his own sanity.

* * *

 **You don't know how good it feels to say this chapter is finally complete. Little lengthy update here so unless you're reading this in real time, it probably cool to skip this Author's note.**

 **For one, no the story isn't abandoned obviously. I've been on the tail end of that type of situation on here, and I would never want to put someone reading through that. At the the very least I'd find some half assed way to wrap it up quick and feel the wrath of the community rather than just stopping.**

 **The laptop I was using both for school and writing this fic got stolen back in July. I'm still saving up to buy a new one, but since then I've been periodically writing this chapter whenever I had free time in the library, which as you could imagine wasn't exactly the most consistent thing. Still though, we made it here. Somehow.**

 **Hopefully I'm looking at getting a new computer by the end of this month. Sorry for the inconvenience up until now.**

 **Also college is ass. Just wanted to put that out there. Happy Thanksgiving people. Remember the Natives.**


	24. The Hebi Strikes

_**Arc V:Ta no Kuni**_

 **Chapter 24: The Hebi Strikes**

* * *

It didn't take long for Naruto to reach the explosion site, though it was admittedly harder because of Isshiki's dead weight. Stopping just outside of its radius, he knew one thing for sure; none of those generators had survived that explosion. Good thing that wasn't a required part of the mission.

Shifting Isshiki into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, he tried to see if he could sense any of their chakra. The snow fall had picked up into virtually a light blizzard and his vision had become pretty limited. He was starting to get a little nervous when he felt something familiar coming from his left. Trudging towards it slowly, he could vaguely make out the figure of someone else infront of him. "Who's over there?" He yelled out to the person.

"Who's over _there?_ " The feminine voice yelled back. Naruto could recognize that tone of sarcasm anywhere. Soon Yozora came into his field of vision, dragging Shiina and Aizen behind her.

"Fuck, what happened to you guys?" Naruto said once she got closer. Yozora snorted, her eyes looking over at Isshiki on his shoulder.

"You two don't look all that great either. Before it becomes story time though, we need to get out of this blizzard."

Naruto nodded in agreement and followed after her as she lead the way to some form of stable housing. Eventually they stumbled upon a small cabin, wore down and seemingly abandoned. The perfect place for them to rest at.

Nudging the door open and giving it a quick look around, Naruto gave Yozora a signal that it was all clear before pushing further inside. The cabin was pretty small, there was only one room with no furniture or features outside of a small fireplace. Compared to the worst places Naruto had slept at, it looked like a paradise.

He sat Isshiki down on one end of the room while Yozora brought Aizen and Shiina over as well. All three were suffering from some serious burn marks, which had Naruto a little worried because he didn't exactly know how to deal with them. Yozora however seemed to have the situation under control, stripping each one of them down just enough so that she could easily reach the areas where they were injured. After looking the three over, she decided Aizen need the most attention so she focused him. Her hands gained a small green glow as she began to hover them over the injured parts of his body.

"You know medical ninjutsu?" Naruto asked genuinely surprised. He didn't take Yozora as being the...nurturing type.

"The basics at least, Shiina is a lot more proficient at it than me." Yozora said looking up at him. "You've got decent chakra control right? Wouldn't hurt for you to learn a little either. It could save your life in a battle."

Naruto duly noted that, putting it in the back of his head for later. He kneeled down beside her, watching Aizen's skin slowly clear up. "Anything you need me to do?"

"Get a fire started and see if you can plug some of the holes in this cabin. I hear snow storms can last pretty long around here, who knows how long we'll be holed up in here." Yozora said. Naruto nodded and got up to take care of it.

"You know, you seem like you could lead an Anbu squadron yourself, why don't you try to become a captain?" Naruto asked, sparking up a fire inside of the fireplace.

"Too much paperwork," Yozora muttered, wiping some sweat from her forehead as she finished up with Aizen. She moved over to Isshiki and began to heal him next. "Besides, I'm in no rush to be directly in charge of a group of people lives. That's a lot more stress than you can imagine. Or I guess you could actually..."

The two fell silent after that, Yozora focusing on finishing up Isshiki and Shiina while Naruto fortified the cabin to the best of his abilities. All in all, it was around an hour in that they both felt they were in a good enough position to relax. The two sat against the wall next to the fireplace, looking over their other three resting partners. He absentmindedly noted how Shiina looked much more approachable in her sleep. She almost looked as innocent as Hinata used to look. Almost.

"You can get some rest you know, fighting off the Akatsuki must've taken a lot out of you." Yozora said looking over at him.

"Nah, I'm good actually. A little restless even." Naruto said looking up at the ceiling. "So what happened with you guys?"

"Well we failed, though I guess that was pretty obvious," Yozora said with a sigh. "I'll tell you everything when the others get up, we'll have to debrief the situation to Cap' anyways. No sense in telling the same story twice."

"Fair enough." Naruto said placing his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. Once again the two fell into a semi awkward silence, flickering fire being the only sound in the room.

"...So, lost your virginity yet?"

"You know what, I think I'll take you up on that getting some sleep offer…"

* * *

 **(5 days later)**

" _...Now…"_

" _...Power…"_

" _...All you desire…"_

" _...Sasuke…"_

" _...Itachi…"_

Sasuke bolted up into an upright position, his breathing erratic and body covered in sweat. He reached up to grab at the curse mark on his neck, rubbing the area as if it was hurting even though there was nothing there. He closed his eyes, trying his best to calm down his breathing.

It had been months since he had these types of nightmares, and now they were back to happening every night. The seal must have been loosening up, that was the only way to explain what was happening. He'd have to return to Konoha and have Kakashi take another look at it…

The sound of rustling nearby caught his attention. He reached behind him and grabbed his sword, sharingan blaring as he stared in the direction of the sound. At first he couldn't see anything, then a single crow shot out from behind the trees, whooshing past him and up into the night sky with Sasuke watching it the entire time. Sighing, he placed his sword back down and collapsed into the grass, staring up into the night sky.

He was getting stronger, that much he was certain of. But was it enough? He hadn't forgotten his goal in life despite what the others were beginning to believe. Avenging his clan and taking Itachi's head was still his number one priority, yet even with his new found strength, he felt that he was getting further and further from making it happen. That something was holding back still.

His hand reached back up to grab at the curse mark. The pain had returned again. He needed to get Kakashi too look at it as soon as possible, less it become a problem again. Standing up, with the action taking a considerable amount of effort on his end because he had admittedly over done it with the training, he gathered his things and began to make his way back into the village. The sun was still nowhere insight, showing he had been training well into the early morning.

He began to make his way back to the road that led to Konoha before he stopped again, staring ahead blankly. A cool breeze ran throughout the area, matching perfectly with the bright shining moon perched in the sky. The Uchiha sighed, closing his eyes while reaching back to grab at the hilt of his sword. Without opening them, he deflected the four shuriken that were coming from his backside effortlessly. He turned around slowly, eyes opening to reveal his sharingan in full bloom.

"Come out. Now." Sasuke said, voice rising just enough so that he could be sure they heard him. For a moment nothing happened, but soon four figures began to emerge slowly from the woods. They all stepped out into the open, Sasuke quickly scanning each of them as they did.

Three guys and one girl. One of them was a big muscular guy with a deep scowl on his face, his aura radiating with hostility towards Sasuke. The other two guys were less imposing, though they both had their own quirks with one having multiple arms and the other having two heads. The female of the group was the only one who hadn't fully stepped out from the shadows and also didn't have her eyes focused on Sasuke himself, instead staring off into a random direction. She looked to be the most normal out of the group as far as he was concerned, though judging from the others he was sure there was something special about her too.

"Well, are you guys going to tell me what you're doing here or am I going to have to beat it out of you," Sasuke said making a showing of flipping his sword. "Cause honestly, I'd prefer the later."

"What does Orochimaru want with this trash in the first place," The bigger guy said folding his arms. "He doesn't look like much to me."

"That's because you're an idiot." The guy with two heads replied. Turning, he gave Sasuke a sickly smile while opening his arms wide in a greeting manner. "Sasuke Uchiha, excuse our matter of introducing ourselves. Quite frankly, I don't think we have a more pleasant way of doing so than we did right there."

He paused for a moment as if he was waiting for Sasuke to reply, but continued when it became clear he wasn't.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves, my name is Sakon. These two gentlemen here are Jirobo and Kidomaru, and the red head there is Tayuya." He said gesturing over too her, who gave him the finger in response. "You can just call us 'Sound Four' for short."

"That's great," Sasuke said sarcastically leaning on his back heel. "Still doesn't answer why you're here, or more importantly decided to attack me."

"Like I said, that was simply our form of greeting. As for why we're here-"

"Well let me show you my form of greeting." Sasuke said flipping his sword into a reverse grip. He launched forward and thrusted it in Sakon's direction, missing by only few hairs. His blade sliced almost cleanly through the trunk that was behind Sakon, causing the top half to topple over and force the others to disperse.

"Someone's got some spunk in their step doesn't he?" Kidomaru said laughing as he landed a few steps away. It faded quickly when he found himself having to dodge another one of Sasuke's swipes, but he couldn't move out of the way in time before Sasuke's foot was planted into his chest. He was caught mid flight by Jirobo, who righted him on the ground while Sakon and Tayuya stood nearby.

"Now now Sasuke-kun, if you wanted to have a fight all you had to do was ask." Sakon said smiling again.

"Are you idiots purposely trying to get us in trouble with Orochimaru-sama? We don't have time for this, just put the little shit out and lets get going." Tayuya said speaking out for the first time. Jirobo looked as though he wanted to agree, but stayed silent once Sakon turned around to glare at her.

"I'm sure Orochimaru-sama wouldn't mind us testing his strength a little. He might even be grateful for it." Sakon said cracking his knuckles. "Let's see just how far the Uchiha has come. You all stay back, I'll be taking care of this alone."

None of them seemed eager to help him in the first place, which was fine with Sasuke. He wouldn't admit it nor show it but he had overdid it a little with the training, and it was much easier to handle one guy than four. Sheathing his sword, for the first time he got a good luck at the headbands each of them sported. _'Sound shinobi, so I was hearing them right. These guys work for Orochimaru.'_ Sasuke thought to himself. He eye'd Sakon wearily, deciding he should probably take him a little more serious now than he was at first.

Sakon went on the offensive first, the two engaging in a back and forth of punches and kicks. They countered acted each other, surprising Sasuke who wasn't expecting him to be this strong. Still, he got the upper hand and broke through his defense, jabbing him in the stomach and kicking his legs out from underneath him. He prepared to thrust him down into the ground when his punch was caught, surprising him again because of how fast Sakon was able to recover and do so.

" **Earth Release: Earth Dome Technique!"** Sakon yelled slamming his palms on the ground. A dome of earth surrounded the two quickly, encasing them in complete darkness as it blocked out the little bit of light coming from the moon.

Sasuke however wasn't overly concerned. His sharingan, while not allowing him to see completely in the dark, would still be enough to know whatever Sakon was planning on doing. Case in point, he caught the slightest movement coming from the right indicating that a punch was coming his way. Turning to block it, a movement from the left split his attention for only a moment, which was enough for Sakon's fist to connect with his face and knock him against the side of the dome. Growling, his sharingan spun wildly as he searched for Sakon's movements again. He caught another glimpse coming from the right, this time fully devoting himself to blocking the attack. Once again a small movement came from the left, but he ignored it this time, catching Sakon's fist before it could connect with him. His victory was short lived however when another punch came, connecting with his jaw and causing him to lose his grip on Sakon, who took the opportunity to kick the Uchiha so hard he bursted out from within the dome.

Rolling on the ground, Sasuke righted himself as he looked back into the now collapsing dome, Sakon walking out with his ever permanent smirk on his face. "What's the matter Sasuke-kun, I thought the Sharingan was supposed to be the 'all seeing' eyes? You're disappointing me."

Sasuke swore under his breath, his sharingan flaring up one more time before he turned it off as he took a few moments to catch his breath. He'd need to preserve his energy if he was going to make it through this. "You've got two chakra networks running through your body," Sasuke said standing back up. "I guess that second head in the back there isn't just for show."

"Oh? So you did manage to figure me out then. Impressive," Sakon replied smugly. "That's my brother Ukon, do you wanna' know what he's telling me now?"

"Too wrap this shit up?" Tayuya asked?

"Actually, you're right," Sakon said, ignoring the eye roll that came from her. "He's always been rather impatient. See me, I like to take my time and-"

"Oh for the love of- will you shut the _fuck_ up and finish this already?" Tayuya screamed from the sideline.

"You're being more unpleasant than usual today, it's really bringing the mood down." Kidomaru said folding his arms. Tayuya glared at him, which served to only amuse him more.

"We can't afford to fuck this up. Incase you all forgot, we don't have the luxury of time on our hands, or have you forgotten the state that _Orochimaru-sama_ is in?" Tayuya said, lowering her voice towards the end. This seemed to shake up all the other members however, who stiffened at the mention of their master's predicament.

"Maybe Tayuya's right," Kidomaru said, noticeably more nervous now than his previous calm demeanor. "We should hurry and get back to Orochimaru-sama. We spent a little more time tailing him than we were supposed to."

"Fine. Let's get this over with then." Sakon said begrudgingly. Sasuke took a step back as the other four came out to surround him, forming a rough square around him. Figuring they were all going to attack him at once, Sasuke reactivated his sharingan and shifted his eyes between all of them. He wasn't prepared however when the tell tale black markings began to spread across all of their faces.

"Curse marks?" Sasuke questioned, watching as all of them made a single sign. A seal of chakra appeared beneath him, connected to the sound Four members as a light purple glow began to leak upwards from it. Before Sasuke could react, he felt a light stinging coming from his curse mark that soon turned into a searing pain. He dropped down to his knees, sharingan turned off and mouth open in a voice less howl as he hunched over. The curse mark slowly began to spread throughout his body before it completely engrossed him, turning his skin a dark gray shade. His body shuddered in pain but soon even that stopped, his body lying motionless on top of the now dead grass within the seal. Sound Four continued to hold the technique for a little longer before releasing it, all of them sighing in relief as their curse marks receded.

"Fuck, that was way more draining than I was expecting." Kidomaru said panting a little. "You got the container Jirobo?"

Jirobo nodded and took the giant basket off from his back. Placing it on the ground, he walked over and picked Sasuke up, gently placing him inside the canister before closing it. Kidomaru quickly slapped on the paper seals and activated them, waiting for them to set before taking his hands off.

"Done? Let's get out of here then, we shouldn't keep Orochimaru waiting any longer." Sakon said turning to leave.

"Oh _now_ you care about getting back to Orochimaru quickly." Kidomaru said while Jirobo picked up the container. Sakon ignored him, taking off into the nearby trees with the others following after him.

In the grass below them laid Sasuke's headband, guarded over by another single black crow.

* * *

It took 4 days for Naruto and co to make it back to Konoha, coming in during the late afternoon heading into a Saturday night. Isshiki and Aizen were the only ones who were still noticeably injured from the mission, but at the very least everyone was awake, coherent, and moving on their own. Once they were back inside the village, they made their way to the Anbu compound where Isshiki was to dismiss them.

"Well, that was a hell of first mission for the rookie huh?" Isshiki said smiling over at Naruto. "Probably never going to be a boring day with you around now huh?"

"If I had a dollar for everytime someone said that…" Naruto mumbled getting a chuckle from the rest of the group, outside of Shiina of course.

"Well, you guys can go ahead and take some time off. I'll handle all the reporting to the Hokage-sama and get things sorted out." Isshiki with a sigh.

"We should all get drinks later, how about it guys?" Yozora asked with a delighted grin on her face. Shiina simply walked away while Naruto and Aizen both hit her with a 'Pass'. In the end Isshiki was the only one who stuck around, giving her small smile and pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll grab a few drinks with you buddy." Isshiki said as Yozora stifled a sniffle.

"Thanks captain…"

Naruto meanwhile was preparing to return to his dorm when he felt a small sting coming from his left shoulder. Seeing his Anbu symbol was glowing, Naruto quickly prepared and summoned himself to the Hokage's office, mask on and gear ready as he stood in front of both Tsunade and Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama," He said addressing the man as he awaited whatever his assignment was. He noticed that the rest of his group wasn't there as well, which left him a little confused.

"You can take off the mask Naruto-kun, it won't be necessary for what your going into," Sarutobi said solemnly. Hesitantly Naruto reached up and pulled it off. He didn't know why, but it still felt weird standing in front of anyone outside of Sarutobi and his Anbu comrades with out his face covered. It didn't help that Tsunade still hadn't seemed to get over his new look and was studying his face carefully. "I'll keep things short, we have a mission for _you_ Naruto-kun, not Husky."

Naruto eyes widened at that. A smile was about to grace his face when he noticed the still solemn atmosphere in the room, which immediately told him something was wrong. "Another emergency mission? What's going on?" Naruto asked looking between Tsunade and Sarutobi worriedly.

"Four days ago, Sasuke Uchiha was kidnapped from the outskirts of the village." Sarutobi said crossing his hands over his face. Naruto's mouth dropped, failing to hold back the look of shock on his face.

"Wh-what, but how?" He asked not believing what he was hearing. How could _Sasuke_ of all people be kidnapped from the village? He would've sooner thought the Uchiha had ran away than to be forcibly taken.

"We believe he was training just outside the village when he was attacked. His headband was recovered and there were signs of a struggle at the site, though not an extensive one." Tsunade added on leaning against the window seal. "And one more thing. We have reason to believe that Orochimaru is involved in all of this somehow."

Naruto's jaw clenched at the mention of Orochimaru. He still remembered his run in with some of his lackeys during the chunin exams, and what he had done to Sasuke. "So do you know where they've taken him?"

"Ta no Kuni," Tsunade mumbled bitterly. "Orochimaru's playing ground."

"Shit, if they've already made it to the border than…" Naruto started before trailing off at the end.

"It's quite possible that young Sasuke-kun is already gone." Sarutobi said, the situation bring out his true age as his voice sounded tired and strained. "Nonetheless, we can't afford to not at the very least attempt to rescue him now. I fear that the longer we wait, the more difficult it will become. If it'll even be possible at all."

"Still, I find it hard to believe they got far with how strict our patrols have been around the village. We haven't found them, as far as we know, but the fact stands that if they wanted to avoid a confrontation they would have had to been very selective in their movements. It's possible that it slowed them down quite a bit." Tsunade added folding her arms over her chest. "Either way, we have to take the chance. We can't afford to lose the last remaining Uchiha."

Naruto nodded, understanding how the fire the situation was. "I'll head out immediately."

"I've already sent out a team led by Kakashi prior to your return home. Last I heard, they were nearing the border of Ta no Kuni. You can use this to track them down." Sarutobi said, tossing Naruto a small cloth. He grabbed it out of the air, looking it over before focusing back on them.

"Anything else?"

"Try to stay alive." Tsunade said, half jokingly and half seriously. "Any other orders and updates that need to be given out can be provided by Kakashi."

Naruto nodded, giving a short head bow before disappearing from the room. Sarutobi released a deep sigh as he moved the Hokage's hat down to cover his eyes. "Long day?" Tsunade asked sarcastically. Sarutobi laughed humorlessly..

"Everyday is a long day. Even if you're short on them."

* * *

Naruto wasted no time in switching out of his Anbu gear and into his regular clothes. He now wore a pair of black cargo pants with matching sandals and a black jacket as well. There was an orange spiral design on the back, with a matching yet smaller design on the front part where his heart would be. His headband still hung loosely around his neck, though he opted to swap out the blue tie for a black one because of consistency sakes. His old goggles were strapped to his forehead, reflecting the sun as he stood on top of the southern gate entrance and peered off into the distance. A sheath running along his back side held his custom made tanto. Bringing his thumb up to his face, he bit it before performing a few hand signs, placing his palm on the structure beneath him as a cloud of smoke appeared next to him.

From it emerged Kiara, yawning as she used her paw to fan away the excess clouds. She had grown over the last two years, now standing just a little higher than Naruto's knee caps and about twice as long. She gave Naruto a happy 'Yip!' while he kneeled down to scratch behind her ear. "Hey girl, you've gotten bigger again since I last seen you huh?" Reaching back, he pulled out a small cloth provided to him by Sarutobi that Kakashi owned. "I need your help Kiara-chan, think you can track down this scent for me?"

Kiara buried her nose inside the cloth, taking in the scent before pulling her nose back and nuzzling against him. "Alright then, let's head out." Naruto picked her up and leaped off of the structure, landing down on the ground and releasing her. She sniffed around for a moment before picking up a scent, making sure she had Naruto's attention before taking off down the path. Naruto followed after her and the two were now on the way, running off with the sun rapidly falling behind them.

Traveling from Konoha to Ta no Kuni's border was about a day's trip if you were moving at an average pace, factoring in breaks and stops. Naruto and Kiara didn't have the luxury of time on their side however, so they were running virtually full speed the entire way there. It was pitch black out and well into the early morning when finally Kiara picked up on a concrete scent, signaling that they were close. Naruto was beginning to pick up on a few familiar signatures too, as well as some unfamiliar ones. He slowed down a little, breathing heavy as Kiara stopped to match pace with him.

"You tired too girl?" He asked looking down at her. He reached into his pouch, pulling out a snack he had been saving for the end of the trip. "Here, you did really good today. Go on back home, things are probably going to be a little troublesome from here on out."

Kiara took the snack happily, giving Naruto one last look before running off. Naruto chuckled, noting how she still preferred to linger around in the mortal world rather than where her summons were located. "Now then, time to locate the others…" He didn't have to think long about how he was going to do it because an explosion, or something similar to it, erupted just a little bit further ahead from where he was. "That doesn't look good...or sound good for that matter."

Making his way over, he could hear the sounds of fighting from where he was positioned. Peeking in on the action, he caught the sight of Choji and Rock lee engaged in a battle with two other guys. Or at least, he thought they were human but the one with multiple arms was making that debatable for him. _'Orochimaru's lackeys i'm guessing…'_ Naruto thought to himself. While he wanted to stay back and help the two, he figured that there was probably more pressing matters going on up ahead that needed his attention. "Hold it down a little longer guys," Naruto said leaping ahead. He must've been on the right track, if he had to take a guess those two were left back to try and slow down Kakashi's squad from catching up. If that was the case he wouldn't have much further to go to catch up with Kakashi.

His theory proved to be right, as just a little bit further ahead he began to sense a few more negative signatures. One of them was for sure Kakashi, he had been around him long enough to know what his presence felt like. The other three however were new, and only two were overly negative. Not wasting any time, he dropped down onto the scene, garnering the attention of everyone present.

Kakashi was there, though he looked as though he had seen better days. His sharingan was blaring as he studied Naruto briefly, his face lighten up with recognition before quickly falling into relief. Something told him that Kakashi wasn't too left out of the loop regarding his death situation. Pakkun was also there, positioned right next to his summoning master.

"Long time no see Naruto." Kakashi said through a strained voice. "Too bad it's in a rather shitty situation."

"What exactly _is_ the situation?" Naruto asked looking across at the other three for the first time. Two of them once again didn't even appear to be human, instead these two gorgon like creatures that gleamed over at him as if he was new food source. The other guy was rather unintimidating, with his pale skin and frail body. Still, his pure white hair coupled with the red markings on his skin almost gave him holy like appearance. He eyed Naruto with the type of curiosity you held when you knew who someone was, but didn't at the same time.

"We've confirmed Sasuke's location, or at least we did. After we caught up, they decided to split up and slow us down," Kakashi said looking back across at the three. "They sent Sasuke up ahead with one of their people, so we-"

"That doesn't matter!" The white haired man yelled at the two creatures interrupting Kakashi. He took a deep breath to seemingly calm down before turning his attention over to Naruto and Kakashi. His eyes lingered on Naruto a little longer before he turned and left out of the area.

"He must be going after Sasuke," Kakashi said breaking into another coughing fit. "Naruto, you stay here while I-"

"No offense Kakashi, but you don't look like you're in the position to be chasing someone down or fighting that guy." Naruto said eyeing his wound. The purple skin around it confirmed Naruto's thoughts that he was poisoned, and if he knew anything about Orochimaru's poison, it's that it's extremely potent. He was expecting Kakashi to put up a fight, but the older man only looked ahead at the other two enemies.

"As much as I hate to say it, you're right." Kakashi said looking back over at him. "Still, I'm sure you know how dire this situation is. We can't afford to lose Sasuke to Orochimaru. I might be asking a lot of you, but I need you to...I need you to get _my_ student back."

Nodding to show he understood the situation, Naruto looked in the direction the man went off in before turning back to Kakashi. "I'll go and get Sasuke. I can feel something...heavy up ahead moving further. It's the same feeling I got from when he first got the curse mark, if that's him than I can track him down easily."

"Good, at the very least even in this condition I should be able to handle these two. Don't worry about me, focus completely on bringing Sasuke back. Understood?" Kakashi said getting a nod from Naruto. He spoke up one more time before the blonde took off. "Also, that guy who just left, his name is Kimimaro. Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what that means."

Of course he didn't. Even though they were believed to be virtually extinct now, everyone knew how feared the Kaguya clan was for their fighting prowesses and unique kekkei genkai. Kimimaro, being the last known survivor of the clan, was said to live up to the hype.

"Noted." Naruto said. He gave him a mock salute before taking off after Kimimaro, Kakashi touching his wound and grimacing before looking back over at Sakon and Ukon.

' _That's Orochimaru for you, the blade barely dug deep but the poison is still potent to spread quickly and deeply. I hate to leave it all in your hands Naruto, but I don't have choice. It's up to you to save Sasuke.'_

He blinked for a moment before remembering what he was going to tell him before Kimimaro interrupted him.

"Oh well, too late now…" Kakashi mumbled pulling out a kunai. "They'll be fine...probably."

* * *

 **(Somewhere in Ta no Kuni)**

A door slowly opened, giving a small glimmer of light into a dark corridor. Kabuto stepped from around it, fixing his glasses as the torches lining up along the walls began to light. He walked until he came upon a crossroad, turning to the left on the dime and continuing his stroll without breaking stride. Eventually he found himself standing at the entrance leading into a large a spacious room. At the far end of it was a large and elaborate statue of a snake, with a man sitting on the inside of it's opened mouth.

Orochimaru looked up, his breathing harsh and eyes bloodshot red. Sweat covered every inch of his body, which seemed to peeling and sliding off at certain areas. He coughed out a purple liquid into his hands before staring back up at Kabuto, taking a moment to compose himself before speaking.

"Well? How are things proceeding?" He asked through ragged breaths. Kabuto looked away as he began to spit up more of the purple substance.

"It shouldn't be much longer until Sasuke is within Ta no Kuni. By that point he will be virtually ours for the taking, there's no way they'll be able to track him down once he is within our underground system." He answered fixing his glasses again. "Still, our problems won't exactly be ending there…"

"I am fully _aware_ of our _problems_ Kabuto," Orochimaru hissed out, his eye narrowing on him. "This body won't hold out any longer, and it will be another three years before I'll be able to do this again. I have no more time to play along with little Sasuke-kun, I must be sure that his body is ready for me when it is time to do this process again."

"I still think you should just take it for yourself now. I mean surely Sasuke-kun has gotten strong enough for his body to able to handle the process for a lifetime, or at the very least close to it." Kabuto said. "Besides, with the sharingan finally at your side coupled with your genius it might not even take another lifetime for you to complete your goal."

"Your words reek of ignorance, I suppose you are still a boy after all…" Orochimaru remarked, not hearing the grunt that came from Kabuto because of his words."Three more years for a lifetime with a healthy Uchiha body is much more valuable than however long I would have if I took it now. I've practiced patience all of this time, a little longer won't be the end of me."

"Hopefully," Kabuto mumbled. "Still, how do you plan on exactly taming him once he arrives. It will take awhile for you to adjust to your new body, and I doubt he'll be willing to just sit around and wait for you to prepare him for yourself. Especially while you're weakend."

"Do you not believe yourself of being capable to contain Sasuke-kun while I recover? Is that the reasoning behind this charade Kabuto?" Orochimaru taunted.

"You and I both no that isn't the issue here. The problem is that _this_ isn't how we planned on things going. Sasuke-kun was supposed to come willingly to us in his quest to gain power. That way you could not only train his body up to your standards with mutual interest, but keep _him_ away as well."

"Ah, so it's not the younger brother that you're worried about." Orochimaru said, stifling a cough.

"If it got out that Sasuke-kun willingly came to your side then I doubt Itachi would be inclined to interfere. It's a different story if he was forcibly taken." Kabuto replied. "We're treading dangerous waters."

"When have we not?" Orochimaru asked rhetorically. "I can appreciate the paranoia, but right now it is misplaced. Itachi will be just as hard pressed to find us as Konoha will. We'll be fine, I'll take care of Sasuke-kun myself."

"Of course Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said bowing. "That aside, the preparations have been made for your new host. Do you want to began the transition now or wait until things are finished?"

"No, the sooner the better. This body has reached its max completely," Orochimaru said. "Start the setup now. I'll be there in a moment."

Kabuto bowed again before turning to leave. Orochimaru watched him until he left, breaking into another coughing fit as he slowly rose to his feet.

' _Using secondary plans are hardly ever ideal, but it's a necessity at times. Things can still run smoothly if I play all of the cards correctly.'_ Orochimaru thought to himself. He couldn't afford another setback like the one with Kimimaro. Not with everything that was happening in the shinobi world. Action would be taken this time.

All he needed was a little time.

* * *

Naruto was pretty surprised with how far Kimimaro had managed to travel in such a short amount of time. Still, it appeared as though the person who was, hopefully, transporting Sasuke wasn't moving as quickly. "They're literally almost right on the border, if I'm going to stop them I need to do it now…"

He felt his heart began to beat faster. His vision clouded for a moment before becoming even clearer than it was previously. His blood felt as though it became hotter, though he knew that was impossible. His thoughts scrambled for a moment.

 _Anger_

 _Hate_

 _Wrath_

 _Resentment_

He took a deep breath. As quickly as the thoughts appeared in his mind, they disappeared. Now he was thinking clearly, more clearly than before in fact. His sense were heightened, and suddenly the surrounding nature became much more vibrant. Almost as if it was talking to him. He could feel the source of this new power stirring within him, but just as soon as it did, it went back into its slumber. As if it knew the situation wasn't important enough for its full attention.

This didn't bother Naruto. He bounded forward with new found energy and speed, gaining on Kimimaro's position. The evil intent up ahead was much stronger now, though Naruto wasn't entirely sure if that was because he was getting closer. Finally, his eyes met that of Kimimaro again. The two stared at each other for the third time today, Naruto's gaze softening as the brief power up from before left him while Kimimaro still held that same curious look. His eyes flickered over to the red haired girl also present, her body drenched in sweat and eyes full of hate as she hoisted a giant container on her back.

If Naruto was a betting man, which somehow he still wasn't even after spending so much time with Jiraiya and Hiruzen, he would definitely put his money on Sasuke being inside of there. The purple aura radiating from there was giving off the same feeling as the curse mark. Locking eyes with Tayuya he flashed her smile and pointed at it. "Any chance you guys can just hand him over and we can all be on our merry way?"

"What? Fuck you!"

"Well that wasn't very nice." Naruto said narrowing his eyes at her. He didn't expect that to work but he figured anything was worth a shot. He didn't know how strong the girl was, but from what he heard Kimimaro was not one to be taken lightly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tango with both of them at the same time.

"Tayuya, continue on to Orochimaru-sama. I'll take care of this one." Kimimaro said, his eyes not leaving Naruto the entire time he had been there. Tayuya looked back at him irritably, but didn't verbally respond. She gave Naruto another look, one that almost resembled pity, before taking off.

"Really couldn't have sent one more person with me could you old man…" Naruto grumbled looking at Kimimaro. He was a little unnerved by how intently the man was watching him, but he pushed that thought to the side when he reached into his robe. Or at least Naruto thought he was reaching into his robe, but in actuality he was taking the top half off. _'Oh brother, are all of these guys freaks?'_

"You," Kimimaro said once he was finished. "You're Naruto Uzumaki. I remember Orochimaru having a deep interest in you, but you had supposedly been killed."

"A _deep_ interest? Don't know how to feel about that one. Though I'm sure he's not the only. Actually, I know he's not the only one." Naruto replied back. A silence fell over the two before Naruto slowly slid down into his fighting stance.

He couldn't tell why, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to see Kimimaro as an evil person. Honestly the man looked like he was pretty good natured all things considered, but seeing as he appeared to be pretty high on Orochimaru's workers list he knew that couldn't be true. Still, this fight felt different. He couldn't explain it other than saying, simply put, he was excited.

Kimimaro looked as though he had no other words to say either. His eye twitching was the only warning Naruto got before he attacked. He did two quick jabs aimed at Naruto's throat, retreating after Naruto dodged both and lashed back out. The two continued to trade blows, neither one able to land a strike on the other.

Naruto brought four clones into existence to tip the playing field in his favor. Kimimaro eyed them with interest before returning his gaze back to Naruto. The four clones took the lead with Naruto falling behind, circling around Kimimaro to cut off all exit points. Kimimaro brought both of his forearms up just as they all attacked, thrusting them out and turning in a circle. Naruto watched as all of his clones were cut in half, dispelling and leaving Kimimaro shrouded in the smoke. His green eyes seemed to glow in the cloud as he stepped out, his forearms now sporting two sharp bones sprouting out from them.

' _So that's his kekkei genkai huh…'_ Naruto said looking in a mixture of awe and disgust. Those things sliced clean through his clones, which meant that if he put a little more exertion behind them they could do the same to him. "Better stay on my toes than,"

He ran through a set of signs before slamming his hands on the ground. **"Lightning Release: Lightning Stream!"** A current of blue lightning began to spread from Naruto's position towards Kimimaro, who jumped in the air to avoid. He was planning on attacking Naruto from the air, but didn't get the chance as he was already on to the next jutsu. **"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"**

Thrusting his palms forward, the concentrated tunnel of wind shot forward and struck kimimaro directly in his chest. He was knocked even higher into the air before he finally fell out of the stream's path, plummeting to the ground where he landed in a heap. Naruto watched him quietly from where he was standing. That looked like it hurt enough to put someone down for the count, but you could never be sure.

He had to hold back from rolling his eyes when he saw that Kimimaro was slowly getting back up. It's not that he hadn't expected it, but that he was _wishing_ he wouldn't. That Tayuya girl was getting further and further away with every passing moment, he didn't exactly have time to be wasting on a full blown battle.

Of course that's what Kimimaro was hoping for in the first place. He coughed into his hand, wiping whatever had come out onto the grass below him before standing up. Naruto was expecting him to take a little breather, but Kimimaro was right back on the offensive. Raising his hand and pointing his index finger in Naruto's direction, he closed one eye as the blonde prepared to counter whatever was coming his way. **"Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"**

' _That doesn't sound good,'_ Naruto thought, his eyes only faintly picking up the small projectile hurling towards him. There wasn't enough time to react as a sharp pain in his thigh temporarily brought him down to his knees yelping out in pain. He was forced into a series of rolls in order to dodge the others, regaining the strength in his legs and bouncing back up to his feet.

Kimimaro had ran up to meet him, jumping into a spinning attack that Naruto dodged underneath. Reaching behind his back, he quickly drew out his tanto and turned around just in time to block out another attack. He pushed Kimimaro back to give him some breathing space, spinning his blade into a more comfortable position. Kimimaro sprung back on him, dancing and twirling around as Naruto tried his best to keep up and deflect the attacks as they came. That was easier said than done however with how Kimimaro seemed to be able to twist and contort his body into positions that shouldn't be possible.

The two collided, pushing each other back as they both took a moment to catch their breath. Naruto wiped away a little blood that had built up on his cheek from a hit that managed to get through. Looking up, he grimaced as he watched more bones erupt from Kimimaro's body, now covering his back and torso. He held two in both of his hands as if they were swords, cracking his neck and matching Naruto's stare. Sighing, Naruto shook the hair out of his eyes before charging forward to engage again.

Luckily over the last two years he had been trained heavily on how to finally use his tanto blade. He was able to match stride Kimimaro, at least in the makeshift blades man battle, the problem was getting close enough to actually take advantage of it. The bones coming from his ribs were keeping Naruto from attacking, and even when he managed to catch a blind spot Kimimaro would somehow managed to slip out of his reach. He could see why Orochimaru was so high on him, he fought exactly like a snake.

"Shit," Naruto mumbled as he parried an attack just before it sliced his chest open. Kimimaro spun to his backside in an impressive burst of speed, swiping again and this managing to draw a little blood as he nicked his back.

Turning around, Naruto finished a set of seals before planting his feet on the ground. Blue lightning sparked to life starting from the tip of his sword and spreading to the rest of his body, covering it in a blue hue. "Let's see you dodge this one…"

" **Lightning Release: Full body Current technique!"**

Kimimaro attempted to prepare himself for whatever attack it was Naruto was planning, but he didn't have enough time as in the snap of a finger Naruto had covered the distance between them and thrusted his blade in Kimimaro's side. The man howled out in pain as Naruto disappeared from his side just a sharp bone shot out to strike where he had been standing. He phased a little further behind Kimimaro, putting some distance between the two as the lightning surrounding him slowly drifted away. He panted heavily, watching Kimimaro collapse to his knee and clutch at his side.

"What was that?" He growled out looking over at Naruto. It had been the first real showing of emotion he had throughout the whole fight.

"You're not the only one with a couple aces up your sleeve," Naruto said still catching his breath. "Next time I plan on sticking this thing straight through your chest."

Naruto was expecting a retort if some shorts, but didn't get one as Kimimaro's face simply returned to its blank state. Getting up to his feet, he removed his hand from where Naruto had strike to reveal that he only had a small gash there, not being as injured as Naruto expected him to be. _'I'm sure I put this thing directly through his side. He should be a little more shaken up than that.'_

'I can see now why Orochimaru-sama had such great interest in you. You are strong indeed." Kimimaro remarked. Naruto scoffed at his words.

"That freak's a little too invested in the youth if you ask me." He replied.

Kimimaro frowned. "You'd be wise not to disrespect Orochimaru-sama's name in my presence again. I haven't made up my mind in killing you yet. Keep talking like that and there won't be much to think about any longer."

"Not my fault your master gives off major pedo vibes," Naruto said shrugging.

Kimimaro gave off no signals he was going to strike. In a instant he lashed out and swiped at Naruto's neck, twirling and jumping around much more frantically yet still very much in control. Naruto tried his best to block each attack, but the longer Kimimaro's onslaught went on the more his defense began to break. Gashes began to appear around his body and he was getting closer and closer to getting punctured.

He managed to find enough of an opening to bring some clones to his aid, but they were quickly dispersed by Kimimaro and he didn't have enough time to pull out anything anymore elaborate. Kimimaro meanwhile spotted another opening, rushing in and planting his foot directly up in Naruto's jaw after hardening its bone density. He was lifted off the ground and up into the air, his head in a daze as the force of the attack disoriented him. Kimimaro brought out another bone spear as he began to fall back down, running towards where he would land with the plan of ending the fight.

Naruto tried to zero back in on the fight and what Kimimaro was doing, but his vision, thoughts and mind were all jumbled up. Kimimaro sped towards him, lifting his spear and thrusting it forward. "This is the end!"

Naruto's mind snapped back into shape just at the right time. He tried to twist his body in the air but found it was to late. Kimimaro was already upon him. The spear thrusted forward, piercing through his left shoulder as he managed to turn himself just enough to to avoid his heart. He yelled out as Kimimaro staked him to the ground, using the bone spear to keep him grounded as he stood over him. Naruto's yells had subsided, instead settling for a low rumble in his throat as he stared up at Kimimaro.

"Orochimaru May have in an interest in you but I believe you are too dangerous to be left alive, which is why I'll be killing you now before you can become a further problem. He pulled out another spear from us side , holding it out over Naruto's chest as he continued to struggle to break free. "If it's of any solace, you fought well."

With that, Kimimaro brought the spear down as Naruto closed his eyes out of instincts. It was gonna hurt like hell, but he'd have to…

" **Earth Release: Stone Shuriken Technique!"**

Kimimaro swore to himself, forced to jump away from Naruto's person as the projectiles rained down upon where he was occupied. Naruto watched the sight in awe before realizing now was his chance to break free. Grabbing the spear with his other hand, with a beastly roar he managed to pull it out of both the ground and his shoulder, tossing it to the side.

Sitting up and breathing hard, he gripped at his now injured arm in pain, holding back the urge to cry out from the touch. His face was ridden with sweat and blood from multiple cuts, but he still managed a grin as he turned to greet whoever it was that had saved his life. That grin quickly turned into a dumbfounded expression as he saw who stood across from him.

It was Ino Yamanaka.

And she did _not_ look happy.

* * *

 **We're at the start of the next major arc in this story. Over 400 followers and close 300 favorites. You guys are crazy.**

 **I won't hold you long though. Happy New Years and see you soon.**


	25. The Destined Collison

**Chapter 25: The Destined Collison**

* * *

A sole figure sat alone in the dark, perched up on the top of an index finger from a large statue. His foot hung loosely over the edge, swinging back and forth while he continued to sit in silence. Slowly, other figures began to phase into existence on the the tips of the other figures, their bodies holographic and almost unseeable outside of their eyes. No one said a word as the man opened his eyes, revealing his unique purple Irises with a ripple design. He stood up to his feet, looking over all of the others before speaking.

"I trust you all know what this meeting is about," Pain asked emotionlessly.

"I don't know, it's been quite awhile since you last called a full meeting. Maybe we could all use a little refresher." Sasori said in a raspy voice.

"It's the Nine Tail's brat isn't it?" Pakura asked looking between Pain and Kakuzu. "Let us get another crack at him will you? Me and the old man here have some unfinished business with him. Especially Kakuzu-san here…"

"Be quiet child, before I decided to take your life." Kakuzu said, narrowing his eyes at her. Pakura mocked flinched under his gaze before waving him off.

"So you guys finally managed to track the brat down huh? Where the hell was he hiding all of this time?" Kisame asked.

"Konoha, at least that's what we believe. That isn't important however, what is important is that he's apparently back in the world's view, which means it's time for us to step up our activity before we have any more disappearances occur." Pain said looking over at Kisame and Itachi. "I'm putting you two back on top of the Nine Tails. If I remember correctly you were planning on making contact with him before he disappeared. I want you to do that now."

"We're bringing him in then?" Kisame asked, flashing his shark like grin. Pain shook his head to show that they weren't.

"Only if the opportunity presents itself. As of now we have no idea of his capabilities, and judging from his fight with Kakuzu we know that he has grown at least somewhat stronger. Your lives take priority over bringing him in. We can't afford to lose anymore valuable members so early into the process." Pain replied.

"Well you're making it seem as though he actually has chance to take one of us out. Hear that Itachi?" Kisame said looking over at his partner. Itachi opened his eyes a little, his sharingan standing out in the room as he looked over at Pain. There seemed to be an unspoken conversation going on before Itachi closed them again.

"If that's what the leader believes then we'll act accordingly." Itachi said. Kisame chuckled before returning his attention back to Pain.

"The rest of you have your own assignments already. As of now, we're officially actively hunting down the Biju," Pain said looking over at Kakuzu and Pakura. "You two, I'm making a change in our formation. We have two new members joining into the force, and you both will be taking watch over one of them. Kakuzu, your new partner will be a recruit named Hidan. Pakura, you'll be working with Tobi. You'll meet both of them once you return to the main facility."

"Awww, I'm gonna' miss you old man." Pakura said looking over at Kakuzu. He rolled his eyes at her words, not happy with the idea of having to adjust to another partner.

"Does anyone else have something to discuss here?" Pain asked looking around the room. When no one replied, he nodded his head to show the meeting was over. "Then let's get to work." The other members slowly began to file out of the room, Itachi being the last one to do in the real world, he opened his and blinked himself back into familiarity with his surroundings. He looked over at Kisame, who was standing up and stretching from his sitting position on the ground. He returned Itachi's stare, who was hanging off of a tree branch, giving him his trademark smile. "So? Where do you want to start partner? Should we head straight to Konoha and-"

"No need, Naruto Uzumaki isn't in the village currently." Itachi said dropping down to the ground. "We're heading to Ta no Kuni."

"The Snake's country?" Kisame asked following after Itachi. "The hell's over in that shit show?"

"My little brother."

Kisame's smile grew in wider.

* * *

 **(The border of Ta no Kuni)**

Ino's gaze was focused squarely on Naruto, who was too frozen in place to even move. She had grown over the last two years just like the others. He absentmindedly noted she got rid of the bandages that covered her abdomen and let it run bare now. Her outfit was essentially the same and so were her looks, though her ponytail and front bang were longer.

It was moment's like this where he wished he didn't have the ability to sense negative emotions. Though he was trying to ignore it, he could feel exactly what she was thinking. It was mostly anger, but the rising sadness was what was really getting to him. He could see the beginning signs of tears in her eyes. He was still at a lost of what to do when his mind snapped back to what was happening around him and he looked over to see Kimimaro still standing a few feet away. From how he was waiting, Naruto could confirm that he was buying time for Tayuya to get away. He couldn't let that happen.

"Listen Ino-chan," Naruto said, flinching after the look she gave him from saying her name. He really should have thought twice before adding the 'chan' on there. "Listen, I know there's a lot of explanations that need to go around. And there'll be time for that. But right now we've got to focus on getting Sasuke back. That girl Tayuya is getting away, you need to catch up to her before it's too late."

Ino's fist shook at her side. Naruto couldn't tell what she was thinking at the moment going by her face, but he knew for a fact that it wasn't good. Her eyes flickered from Naruto to Kimimaro briefly before returning back to him. "Which way?" She asked finally in a low voice. Naruto swiped some blood off of the wound on his shoulder, performing a set of signs before slamming his hand on the ground. Kiara appeared from smoke again, looking around confusedly as a fish frailed about inside her mouth.

"Kiara, I need you follow the two scents that left out from this area and lead Ino to it. Can you do that?" He asked looking down at her. The fox nodded to show she would and happily bounded over to where Ino was standing, circling around her legs and nuzzling up against them. Ino's face softened for a moment as she regarded the fox before hardening again after she looked back up to Naruto. He was expecting another question, but watched as she turned her attention back to the fox.

"Come on, let's go get Sasuke-kun back," Ino said, Kiara yipping in agreement. As the two took of in the direction Tayuya left in, Kimimaro prepared to intercept them before Naruto appeared in his path. The smiles were off, and Naruto's stare was enough to make even Kimimaro hesitate a little.

"Your fight's still with me." Naruto said still clutching at his wound. "No more games." Kimimaro scoffed as he looked over at Naruto's shoulder.

"You hardly look like you're in a position to continue fighting. I'll make quick work of you," He said preparing to charge at the boy. He was stopped once again however when the pressure in the area increased. The wind around Naruto began to pickup, blowing a steady but noticeable breeze. Kimimaro watched as his hair began to flow upwards, the tips turning a little orange in hue as the same color aura began to appear around his body. His eyes opened to reveal they had cat like slits down the middle. His nails turned to claws and his whiskers became more pronounced.

His hand dropped from his shoulder, showing that the wound had all but healed itself. For the second time in this battle, Kimimaro displayed a visible showing of emotion, his eyes wide as he took a step back. Naruto cracked his neck on both sides before starting to walk forward.

"A transformation technique of shorts?" Kimimaro asked aloud, holding his two bone swords in front of him as a defense. Naruto shook his head as he flipped his tanto into a backwards grip.

"Not quite." He said before dashing forward. His blade met Kimimaro's, the force of the impact knocking him back a few feet. Naruto ran up again, lashing out in a series of swipes that Kimimaro was forced to dodge much like Naruto was earlier. His attacks were coming much quicker now, yet they still had the same level of percisness as before. Kimimaro erupted a few bones out of his body to force Naruto to back away. Using the brief moment of space to try and turn the tide back in his favor, he pointed both tips of his fingers at Naruto.

" **Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"** He yelled, firing the projectiles in rapid succession. Naruto began to circle around the area, staying out of the range of the bullets while slowly closing in on Kimimaro. He dashed forward, swiping at the man and forcing him to quit the Jutsu as they began to exchange blows again. Kimimaro tried to use his various dances to break through Naruto's defenses, but found that with his new speed Naruto was able to keep up with his every movement. A sharp pain struck him in his chest, causing him to stumble for a moment and give Naruto an opening.

Channeling wing chakra around his hands, Naruto ducked down before thrusting both of his palms into Kimimaro's chest, the impact rocketing him across the field. Naruto took a deep breath while he watched the man come to a stop, getting up to his knees slowly. Kimimaro's breathing was erratic as he started to cough up a little blood.

"You're not the only one with a transformation up your sleeve," Kimimaro said raggedly. Naruto watched as black markings began to spread throughout his body, starting from his chest. He knew all too well what he was watching transpire.

' _Orochimaru's curse mark…'_ He thought to himself. Kimimaro's was different from the one Sasuke had, but it still gave off the same sinister feeling. He was surprised however when the lines didn't stop growing and instead began to take over his entire body.

Kimimaro's skin turned a grayish brown color and his eyes turned pure black with gold irises. The bones on his spine erupted through the skin, scaling along his backside similar to that of a dinosaur. A tail spurted from his body, with sharp bones covering it as well. Naruto wasn't really sure what animal he had modified himself to be like. He did have something to say about it though, and couldn't keep his thoughts to himself.

"That's disgusting." He said once it look as though Kimimaro was finished. He watched as the tail rose and fell behind ominously, almost like Kimimaro was testing it out.

"This form was a gift from Orochimaru-sama. It's only right that I use it to silence that insolent mouth of yours." Kimimaro said, launching out at Naruto. He dodged the first two swipes as Kimimaro had respurted the bones from his forearms, but was caught off guard when the tail swooped around and wacked him the back. He hissed to himself, one of the bones scraping his backside and tearing a rip in his shirt.

All of sudden the match had returned to what it was previously before. Naruto was mostly on the defensive while Kimimaro danced and frailed about, trying as hard as possible to break through his defenses. Naruto got the feeling that now Kimimaro was actually trying to end the fight quickly for some reason instead of just serving as a distraction, but he wasn't sure why.

"You're getting sloppy!" he yelled out, dodging under one of Kimimaro's strikes before slashing him in the chest. He managed to draw blood but not much else because of Kimimaro's hardening ability. Growling, Naruto jumped away before Kimimaro could begin attacking again. He needed a plan.

Kimimaro didn't chase right after him. He watched him from afar, reaching behind and hovering his hand over his back. Naruto was about to ask what he was doing when slowly, his spine began to erupt from within his skin. Out of all the bones he had saw leaving skin today, this was definitely the grossest showing. It took all his will power not to look away from the sight. Couldn't look weak in the face of battle and all.

"A whip made from your spine," Naruto said slowly. "You're full of surprises aren't you friend?"

Kimimaro didn't reply. He jumped forward and swung the whip at Naruto's face. He dunked under it and tried to get in close, forced to retreat again when the tail came in for another strike. Growling, Naruto ran through signs before grabbing his tanto by red tie going through it's handle.

" **Wind Release: Sickle Funnel Technique!"** Naruto yelled spinning the blade in a circle. Wind quickly whipped around the weapon and shot out in Kimimaro's direction, getting bigger and surrounding him as he put both of his arms up in defense. Spurts of wind chakra broke off inside of the tunnel, slashing and hacking against Kimimaro's body he tried to stand his ground. Naruto kicked up the chakra he pumped into the technique, increasing the ferocity of it. He held it for a while longer before releasing it, the wind in the area dowing down with the funnel dispersing. He waited for the dust to clear, Kimimaro's form still standing the makeshift guard he put up. He had cut's all over his body, though once again Naruto wasn't really sure if he did any damage because of Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai.

Kimimaro dropped his arms to the side, holding the whip loosely in his hand. "That's quite the technique you have there. Too bad it's ineffective on someone like me."

"Worth a shot at least." Naruto said shrugging his shoulders. He sighed, sheathing his tanto and dropping down into his taijutsu stance. ' _Anything surface level won't do a thing to him and I can't get a good enough position to put enough force in an attack to puncture through his bone defense with my tanto. The only other option I see is striking him hard enough that the force can cause some internal damage.'_

Naruto began to draw on more of the Kyuubi's chakra. He winced as the feeling of his chakra coils boiling returned again, lasting a little longer this time before it subsided. The orange aura around him darkened, now turning red in color. He could hear the Kyuubi stirring in his mindscape, but it still hadn't awoken completely. That was fine with him, the last thing he needed was him talking in his ear right now.

"Alright skeleton man, let's wrap this up. Both of us have dates to attend; me with that pretty redhead friend of yours and you with death." Naruto said crouching low. In a rare showing of emotion, Kimimaro smiled as he crouched low as well.

"Both of us have a date with death Uzumaki-san…"

And so they charged.

* * *

Kakashi wasn't a stranger to having bad days. Quite the contrary, he could argue that _most_ of his days were bad days and there wouldn't be many who would argue against him. Which is why he was very comfortable with saying…

Today was a _really_ bad day.

He pulled his hand out from the chest of Sakon. Or Ukon. He wasn't sure which one was the last one he killed, but what he did know was that both of them were dead. That was a good thing.

What Sakon or Ukon had said before their death, however, wasn't good.

" _Sasuke-kun's fate was sealed the moment we put him inside of that container. It doesn't matter if you even manage to take him back. The very essence of Orochimaru is indebted into his being. The two are forever connected, and Sasuke-kun will be drawn to him from dusk to dawn."_

"Dusk to dawn…" Kakashi mumbled. His vision went blurry, and he almost felt as if he was going faint before things went back to normal. He reached into his pouch and took out another pill that Ino had provided. He took it, though he wasn't exactly sure how effective the first one had been. Still, he hadn't keeled over yet so that was a positive.

He took a few moment's to hazardly wrap up the wound to prevent it from further exposure and bleeding. He was exhausted. More exhausted than he had been in a long time. He was positive this feeling was mostly a result of the poison or antidote, possibly both, but didn't rule out how mentally taxing things had been from contributing.

Tying the final not, he pulled over his shirt and strapped his vest back on. There were two plans of action here. He knew for a fact that Lee and Choji were still back there with the other members of Sound Four. Going off his own experience, those two were definitely going to need some help if it wasn't already too late. On the other hand, Sasuke was still getting away in the opposite direction and Naruto was likely fighting with Kimimaro at this very moment. Ino was also supposed to be ahead looking for Sasuke but he wasn't exactly sure what was happening with that situation. Either way, both parties probably needed his help equally. There was one variable that was swaying his mind.

Naruto.

Of all the people to come charging through, he wasn't expecting it to be him. He was one of the few people intrusted with the knowledge that Naruto was still alive by the Hokage, and even knew that he was undergoing special training as well. He didn't know however what that special training entailed and just how powerful Naruto had become. Could he possibly handle the situation up ahead on his own? The majority of Kakashi's belief was that he couldn't, but he also knew that that belief was based off of the old Naruto, which he clearly wasn't anymore.

He sighed to himself. He was making a risky decision, but it was one that he was going to take nonetheless. Getting himself together as best as he could, he turned around and headed back in the direction of Choji and Lee. He would finish up with those two and hopefully circle back around to provide any assistance he could with Naruto and Ino up ahead. If he managed to get there in time, which he seriously doubted. Sasuke of course was the primary focus of this mission, but Kakashi couldn't very well live with himself if those two ended up losing their lives. Even more so if they didn't get Sasuke back in the end. Everything was basically riding on Naruto's shoulders. Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Really, today was a shitty day.

* * *

"You know Naruto, today's been pretty shitty…" Naruto mumbled under his breath, clutching at his head and grimacing as sharp headache hit his temple. His vision blurred red for a moment before returning back to normal, the pain subduing. "That's not good..." Kimimaro coughed in front of him, a large amount of blood spurting out of his mouth this time. "That's not good either, are you feeling alright dude? You're not looking too great."

"Showing concern for an enemy in the middle of battle…" Kimimaro said in between coughs. "You might be the most foolish individual I've met in my life."

"For one, I prefer the term 'care free'. And two, being one of Orochimaru's slave boys I doubt you've really met that diverse a group of people in your life." Naruto said. The two had been at somewhat of a stalemate for the past few minutes. Anytime it felt like one was starting to get the upper hand, the other would flip the script and turn things back around in their favor. Frankly, Naruto was getting sick of it.

"Can I ask you something?" Naruto said addressing Kimimaro with a curious look. "What exactly is the end game here? You guys capture Sasuke and take him back to Orochimaru and then what? What's Orochimaru planning to do with the last Uchiha, this all seems a bit much to just be acquiring the sharingan."

"Orochimaru's plans go far beyond simply acquiring the Sharingan and its powers." Kimimaro said. Seeing as he wasn't saying anything else, Naruto figured that was all he was going to get out of the stoic man. Sighing, he rubbed at his neck while cocking his head to the side.

"Well as fun as this has been, I think we both know it's time for it to come to a conclusion. I've been having fun for to long." Naruto said getting Kimimaro to raise an eyebrow.

"Fun?" He questioned before a heavy presence fell over the area. The wind began to pick up unnaturally, Kimimaro looking around at the spectacle before his sights rested back on Naruto. He had his eyes closed , still in the same position as before, but for some reason Kimimaro knew that this was all happening because of him.

A couple drops of sweat began to form on his forehead. For some reason it felt as though temperature had dropped several degrees but he knew that wasn't possible. He stumbled a little, looking down to see that his knees his knees were shaking. What was this that he was feeling?

' _Fear?'_

No. His mind suddenly shifted back to his time spent with his clan. Being locked in the cages. The loneliness he had felt during that time. The _anger._

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He tried to focus back in on Naruto, but found it was hard to even look him in the face. He managed to though, noting that his eyes still hadn't opened.

Slowly they did.

His pupils were still spited, but now they sat in a sea of blood red instead of the typical cerulean blue. The red hue that at one point was just small radiance now seemed to wash off of his body in waves. The tips of his head were fully red now as well, swaying in the wind like specks of fire.

His hand dropped to his side as he faced Kimimaro head on, the joyous tone of his previous face now replaced by an emotionless gaze. Kimimaro swallowed a knot in his throat. He hadn't seen a stare like that sense…

"You get one hit." Naruto drawled out, breaking Kimimaro from his stupor. "Then it's game over."

Kimimaro growler under his breath. He didn't know why, but for some reason Naruto's words were getting under his skin more than usual. Never more had he he wanted to kill a person than he did right now.

He erupted a few more bones out of his forearm to completely cover it, taking his whip in one hand and a bone spear in the other. He'd make sure to impale this blonde devil so deep that he wouldn't get up. Not again.

"Your arrogance will be the death of you!" Kimimaro yelled lashing out at him. He closed the distance in a second, yet Naruto had yet to even twitch a muscle from his spot. He thrusted the spear towards his chest, fully expecting him to dodge it. Naruto however lifted his left hand and caught the blade with his bare palm, stopping it dead in its tracks while Kimimaro tried to press it forward. Growling again, he swung the whip to wrap around Naruto, who narrowed his eyes before yanking the spear in his grip forward, knocking Kimimaro off balance and interrupting his attack.

True to form, Kimimaro adapted and let go of the spear. Sliding around to his back side, he tried to thrust his tail into Naruto's back, but in a burst of speed he jumped away from the spot, landing a few feet away.

"I give you one last shot and that's how you use it?" Naruto said, his voice still even as if he wasn't in the middle of a battle. "Honestly, and I'm supposed to be the foolish one?"

Kimimaro rushes forward again, but this time Naruto reacted as well. He ducked below the mans first attack before sidestepping the second, managing to maneuver himself to the side of him. Kimimaro tried to attack with his tail, but once again Naruto caught the attack again, this time gripping it with both. He planted his foot on his back, and in one quick motion, ripped the appendage from his back side.

Kimimaro roared, stumbling forward with his body shaking in shock. Naruto eyed his prize for a moment before tossing it to the side, looking back over at Kimimaro while he hunched over in pain.

"Y-you...you'll pay for that…" Kimimaro said. His face convoluted before he vomited up a large amount of blood, for the second time today getting Naruto to pause.

"Your sick." Naruto half said and half asked. Kimimaro took in a couple raspy breaths, not even able to lift his head up and face Naruto anymore.

"I...I have a duty to perform," Kimimaro mumbled, though Naruto got the feeling he wasn't talking to him anymore. "I must ensure Orochimaru's survival. I cannot fail…"

Naruto watched him for a little while longer before turning his eyes to the horizon. The sun was already peaking up, meaning he had spent much more time here than he was planning on. "From the looks of things you aren't even in a position to continue this fight. You look like you're in your final moments. I let you enjoy them in peace."

Kimimaro managed to look up at Naruto through one eye as he walked past him. He stopped a few feet away, putting his hands on his hips while looking around. "Which way did Ino and Kiara take off too…" Naruto mumbled to himself. Kimimaro growled in his throat, gripping at the soil below him.

He couldn't help but shake the feeling that he had been mocked this entire battle. Had he been in his prime, he knew that he would've been able to handle this brat no problem. This illness, however, had once again stripped him of his purpose in life. He could no longer be Orochimaru's vessel, nor could he even be of service to him in battle. He was now nothing more than a useless tool, one that deserved to be tossed the side and abandoned.

No. He still could serve of some use to Orochimaru. If he could take care of this final nuisance, Sasuke would be delivered to Orochimaru no problem. All he had to do was finish this one last deed.

A tremor shook throughout the clearing. Naruto paused, feeling the disturbance below. "What the hell is tha-"

" **GET OFF OF THE GROUND! NOW!"**

The Kyuubi's voice suddenly booming through his head startled him, but Naruto reacted nonetheless and launched himself up into the air. Looking down at the ground, he saw it wasn't a moment too soon. The entire landscape was covered in long, sharp bones, spanning for what looked like a couple miles across. It was a breathtaking view, one that Naruto would've appreciated a lot more if his descent upward wasn't slowly reversing.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Naruto yelled out as he began to fall. There was no area he would've been able to reach that wasn't a death trap below him, and he didn't exactly trust his luck enough that he would be able to balance himself on one of them without getting impaled as well.

' _Well, it hasn't been field tested yet but it's looking like it's now or never,'_ Naruto said seeing one last course of action. He took a deep breath before the feeling of his blood boiling returned, this time far more intense. A growl escaped his lips, but he kept building up the feeling he was holding in even though the rest of his body was cursing him for it. He continued to plummet to the forest of bones, and to the any outside observers it would have looked as though he had accepted his fate. Right before he met his fate, he balled himself into a ball before throwing his body outwards, releasing the tension inside of him had been building up.

Red chakra exploded from his body, rocketing in all directions in a violent explosion. It tore away not only at the bone field, but the ground underneath and everything else in path as the chakra continued to lash out like a violent windstorm. As powerful and impactful as it was, the damage didn't last long as after a few seconds it began to die down. Naruto landed in a heap down inside of the miniature crater he had made. He could still hear the final remnants of the wind and chakra whirling around him, but it was muffled as both his sight and hearing were disoriented. It took a few seconds for him to recover enough that he was able to move, groaning as he put his hands underneath him to pull himself back up.

"Holy shit..." Naruto groaned out picking himself off of the ground. He fell back down on his backside, taking a moment to actually look at the destruction he and Kimimaro had caused. "Holy _shit_ …"

Pulling himself up to his feet, Naruto pulled off the last remaining strands off his shirt off of his body. Luckily enough, his pants were still intact enough that he wouldn't have to worry about them for now. Of course today was the one day he hadn't brought a scroll with extra clothing. He made his way out of the crater, looking around for any signs of Kimimaro. He found what he was looking for just outside of the dent in the earth, the white haired man poking out from a bone that bordered the crater. His eyes were closed, and two trails of blood was leaking out from his mouth and running down to his chest. He was motionless. There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that he was dead, but whether or not he had caused it was another story.

He looked over Kimimaro's features. He couldn't help but notice that, even in death, the man held a supreme sense of calmness around him. Or rather, Naruto figured that this time around it might have been _because_ he was dead. This Kimimaro and the Kimimaro from a few minutes ago seemed like entirely different people, and it wasn't just because the curse mark had receded.

Bending down, Naruto pick backed up his seath and strapped it around his torso. He gave Kimimaro one last glance before turning around to walk away, spitting out a little blood in the process.

"Good fight."

* * *

It didn't take long for Naruto to pick back up on Sasuke's trail. He just hopped that Kiara and Ino were able to find it as well, seeing as they were now officially in Ta no Kuni.

He frowned at the thought of the former. He had played how they first encounter with each other would go over in his mind time and time again, yet it still hadn't prepared him for the real thing. Hell, he still didn't have any idea of what to say to her when he next saw her. Of course the first person he had to deal with would be the one he was dreading the most.

He slapped himself on the side of his face. He had to focus back on the task at hand. They were officially in Orochimaru's playing grounds, which meant that anything could happen at anytime. Nothing could get in the way of his focus because that could be the difference between life and death.

The terrain around him was slowly becoming less forestry and more open plains and fields. Naruto had always found it weird that Orochimaru had decided to center his area of work right next to Konoha, his greatest enemy. He found it even more weird that Sarutobi let him run as free as he did, though he kept those thoughts specifically to himself. There were a lot of things about the old man he had come to question over the past couple of years.

He felt a pull on his conscious but ignored it. He didn't have time to deal with the Kyuubi right now. The feeling persisted though, and reluctantly he allowed the biju's words to come through. ' _What is it? In cases you haven't noticed I'm a little busy at the moment.'_

" **You're showing a lot of hostility to the reason you're still alive boy,"** the creatures rumbled out. " **I should've let that sickly human take you out with him."**

' _But you would've went too, so I guess that was out of the question from the get go wasn't it? Now what do you want?'_ Naruto replied irritably.

" **Keep our communications open. You've been pulling on my chakra often lately, and the one time I decide to check on you on a whim you almost got us killed. It took a considerable effort on my part to break through and talk you despite the barrier, an effort that in the future could slow me down and result in your death."**

' _Our death.'_ Naruto corrected. The fox snorted.

" **All these years and you're still an annoying brat."** He muttered. Naruto was about to retort but he felt the creature's presence subside. He knew that meant that whatever he said from this point onwards would be ignored. That was fine with him, like he stated earlier there were more pressing matters at hand than his never ending quarrels with his tenant.

His thoughts were broken up by a flare appearing up ahead. He recognized it as the one's Konoha used whenever they were out on expeditions. Swearing to himself, Naruto speed up in the direction it came from. He had been so wrapped in the Kyuubi that he hadn't noticed he had gotten rather close to Sasuke and the others. He closed the distance quick enough though, wanting to put an end to this mission as quickly as possible. The fates at play however seemed to once again have another plan for him. Once he reached the others, he realized there was yet another member who had joined them.

"Well well, if it isn't Naruto Uzumaki. I must say, this is quite the surprise. We were under the impression that the Suna Jinchuuriki had the pleasure of taking you out." The newcomer said. "Seems the rumors of you still being alive were true after all."

"Kabuto," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at him. "Orochimaru's right hand man out in the field? He must really be getting desperate."

"Impatient is the more accurate word in this scenario, but nonetheless you're right. Orochimaru-sama doesn't want any slip ups on this. Sasuke-kun has taken far too long to make up his mind, so we took the initiative to further...persuade him" Kabuto said sporting a sly smile.

"Seems to me like he already made up his mind. It might come as a shock to you, but some people don't enjoy being a boy toy." Naruto said cracking his neck. He turned his attention over to Tayuya, who was panting behind Kabuto with the container right next to her. "Your friend doesn't look like she can go much further with that thing. Time's up Kabuto, you failed."

"Tayuya, pull yourself together. We've got work to do." Kabuto said looking over at her. Tayuya glared at him but silently moved away from the container to stand next Kabuto. Naruto eye'd it cursiously. The energy coming from it was getting even darker, and that couldn't be good.

He looked over at Ino for the first time since he arrived, but she didn't return his gaze. Still, it looked as though she already knew what he was going to say. "I'll handle her, you focus on Kabuto." Her tone was icy, something that didn't go unnoticed by him.

"R-right," He said looking back over at Kabuto. He sighed, realizing he had a lot of work to do. The mission was the top priority though, and the man standing across from him was no slouch. "Alright Kabuto-kun, looks like it's me and you buddy."

"Still such a child I see." Kabuto said shaking his head. "Looks as though Kimimaro already put you through hell. This'll barely be worth my time."

Naruto only smiled in response. Tayuya looked between the two before noticing that Ino had taken up a stance. Swearing to herself, she followed suit while Kabuto stood as calm as could be. For a moment, all was still.

That quickly changed.

Naruto charged forward in a burst of speed that shocked everyone. Kabuto however felt the brunt of it, Naruto's fist connecting with his jaw and knocking him across the clearing. He spared Tayuya a glance before darting towards her as well, the girl freezing up as he appeared right in front of her face, staring her in the eyes before swiftly dodging over her. He grabbed the container and slugged it over his back, giving her a quick smile before jumping away. Tayuya stood in shock for a little while longer before breaking out of her stupor and attempting to give chase. She found it difficult to move however, looking below to see the ground around her had turned into a deep, chakra influenced puddle of mud. She looked up to see Ino give her a wink before dipping out of the area right after Naruto.

The clearing fell silent until Kabuto began to get back up to his feet. Holding his jaw, his eyes opened with unfiltered rage as he stared after them. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, GO GET HIM BACk!" He roared at Tayuya. She had finally broken free, Kabuto catching up to her and the two giving chase.

Naruto meanwhile was gunning it with all that he had. Honestly, he couldn't believe that what he did had actually worked. Even better was that Ino had caught on to what he was going for as well seeing as she was right behind him along with Kiara. "Kiara-chan, think you can lead the way back to Kakashi?"

The fox dashed forward to move ahead of them, taking a turn with Naruto and Ino following. Naruto shifted the container on his back uncomfortable, momentarily sympathizing with that red haired girl from earlier. Not only was this thing bulky, but it was heavy as hell. No doubt because it was holding an entire person inside. One thing was for sure, he definitely wasn't carrying Sasuke all the way back to Konoha.

He could feel Ino's eyes burning into the back of his skull, but once again that was a battle he was hoping to save for later. They eventually passed the area where Naruto and Kimimaro were fighting at, Ino gasping at the sight of the landscape. He could tell that she was holding back from asking what had happened, which amused him a little. He missed having someone around who could match his level of stubborness.

A few minutes later and Kiara finally began to slow down. Naruto recognized that they were around the area where he remembered Rock Lee and Choji fighting. Sure enough, just a little bit further and they ran into both of them, with Kakashi there as well.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled out in surprise. Choji's jaw also dropped at the sight of him, watching as he and Ino both landed next to them. Naruto gave them both a quick smile.

"Hello again Kakashi-sensei. Long time no see Choji." He said quickly. Choji was still shell shocked, stumbling over his words.

"N-N-Naruto? But you're supposed to be dead! How are you here?" Choji asked.

"Question of the day isn't it?" Ino said quietly finally speaking up. "There's no time for that now, we need to get a move on. Kabuto's still coming right behind us."

"Kabuto?" Kakashi questioned looking behind them. He then observed the others. He already knew Choji was too injured to continue fighting. Lee was next to them lying unconscious so he obviously was out for the count. Ino looked fine for the most part. Naruto was missing a shirt, half of his pants and was filthy but outside of his physical appearance still looked good. Nodding to himself, he had come up with a plan. "Naruto, I hate to stick you with the hardest task yet again but-"

"You want me to stay behind and stop Kabuto from pursuing you guys right?" Naruto said sliding the container off of his back. "It's fine, I've still got plenty of fight in me."

"At least someone does," Kakashi said with a sigh. His next conversation was cut short as Kabuto and Tayuya came into view. They landed a few feet away from them, Kabuto glaring over at Naruto who smirked in return.

"How's the jaw?" Naruto asked sarcastically. Kabuto growled in response, his focus fluttering over to Kakashi and the others briefly. He spotted Sasuke's container behind them, his scowl growing even deeper. He could have taken care of Naruto and Ino himself no problem, but adding Kakashi in the mix would complicate things even if he did seem injured. He was beginning to consider retreating a pulsating feeling began to fill the area.

Naruto froze, the negative feeling rolling through his body in waves. He could tell that he wasn't the only one to feel it based on the looks of his comrades. He turned around to face the container holding Sasuke, noticing that the chakra leaking from it was becoming much more potent. The four seals wrapped around the lid began to glow a red color before one after the other the papers began to go up in flames. The lid cracked open, with everyone taking a step back as it slowly fell over to the ground.

A hand gripped the top of it as a figure began to emerge. Naruto and the others looked on in disbelief as Sasuke, or at least what they thought was Sasuke, stood up to his full height. His skin had turned into a sickly grey color all around his body. His hair had grew tremendously, now hanging down his back and in a much more wilder fashion than before. His eyes were pitch black outside of the sharingan, which spun wildly as it adjusted to the light. The biggest change however were the two pair of giant, webbed hands that protruded from his back like wings.

"What the fuck…" Naruto whispered still staring along with the others. He and Kakashi were the only ones to turn around at the sound of Kabuto laughing, watching as he walked closer.

"It looks like you were too late Konoha scum! Your dear Sasuke-kun has already fell completely under Orochimaru-sama's control." Kabuto said looking him over with a nod. "Honestly, I didn't expect his body to take on the next level of the seal so well, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. There was a reason Orochimaru-sama desired his body so much after all." Naruto growled at his words before looking back at Sasuke. He was staring down at his hands, looking them over almost as if he didn't know if they belonged to him.

"Sasuke, buddy?" Naruto called out stepping forward with his hands out. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as Sasuke head slowly moved up to look over at Naruto, cocking to the side in curiosity. "We've come to take you back home. Konoha, do you understand?" The two were now standing right across from each other, Sasuke still standing inside of the container. If he understood what Naruto was saying, he didn't show any signs of it as he went back to looking over his hands. Naruto was about to speak again when Kabuto suddenly leaped over to where they were standing, landing right next to Sasuke,

"Sasuke-kun, it's time. Orochimaru-sama is waiting." He said looking at him with a smile. It fell however when Sasuke paid him no mind. "Do you understand? I said that Orochi-"

Kabuto reached out to grab him, which proved to be a mistake as Sasuke quickly reacted and grabbed his wrist. A crunching noise rung out, Kabuto crumbling to ground in that pain while Sasuke continued to hold on to his hand. He looked over at Naruto, who returned his stare unnervingly as Sasuke dropped Kabuto from his grip. Courtesy of the wings on his back, he lifted himself up into the air, the others watching as he continued to stare down Naruto. He gave a small smirk, before turning and flying off.

Naruto grunted to himself. He knew exactly what that look Sasuke had given him mean't. He was looking for a fight, and Naruto was the only one here that was able to give that to him. He looked over at Kabuto, who had finished healing his hand and was also watching Sasuke fly off. "Kabuto, get out of here."

"What?" Kabuto growled out glaring over at him.

"I said get out of here. I don't have time to deal with you right now, but if you decide to take it that route…" Naruto said turning to face him fully. Kabuto looked at him and the others behind him. He began to pick up what Naruto was alluding too, smiling as he stood back up.

"Fine, we'll leave then. Come on, Tayuya."

"No, she's staying with us." Naruto said, getting said girl to look at him as if he had killed someone. "You didn't think you were getting out of this scott free did you? Now if you want to _fight_ for her than we can take this back to our previous conversation, but if you don't then I suggest you get to moving."

Kabuto frowned. He looked over to Tayuya, narrowing his eyes as he could see the fear and confusion in her face. Sighing, he turned and left the area, leaving the girl to whatever fate Konoha had in store for her. Tayuya watched him leave with her mouth agape, at a lost for words before her face contorted into one of pure rage.

"You fucking bastard! You're really just going to leave me here you sick fuck?! I fucking hate your guts, you and thatasshole master of yours!" She yelled out after him. Naruto let her finish before looking over to Kakashi, who already knew what he was going for next.

"You're going to be coming back to Konoha with us. I hope you don't plan on putting up a fight. Not for my sake of course, but yours." Kakashi said giving her an eye smile. Tayuya remained silent, saying nothing while Ino moved behind her to put on restraints. Kakashi turned his attention back to Naruto, who was now looking off in the direction Sasuke had went. "Well then makeshift leader, what's the next plan."

"The next plan is for you guys to head back to Konoha and leave Sasuke to me," Naruto said looking back and giving Kakashi a smile. "I know you wont allow that though so I'd appreciate it if only you came along Kakashi-sensei, it's easier that way."

"No objections here. Ino, I'm putting you in charge of making sure everything goes smoothly with getting everyone back home." Kakashi said creating a clone. "He'll accompany you to make sure of that."

"Everybody set?" Naruto asked looking around. "Let's get this show on the road then."

"Be safe guys! And...well, I don't know what exactly happened but it's good to have you back Naruto." Choji called after them, lifting Rock Lee up onto his shoulders. Ino still wouldn't look in Naruto's direction, instead holding on to Tayuya and facing the direction they were about to go in. Naruto sighed, giving Choji a small wave before turning around.

"Good to be back Choji."

With that, the two groups went their separate ways. Kakashi followed behind Naruto, who said he was still able to track Sasuke down despite the ground he had managed to cover. Looking at Naruto's backside, Kakashi couldn't but to be reminded of his past days with his own sensei. If it was eerie before how similar they seemed, now it was downright scary.

' _I don't know what you two did to this kid, but it worked. It definitely worked.'_

"You think that was the right move back there Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked looking back at him. "Maybe we should've just taken Kabuto down right there."

"Sasuke's the priority. Fighting Kabuto as well as that other girl would've taken up to much time. Still, you managed to get us a valuable hostage who no doubts holds a lot of information. All things considered, I don't see that situation working out any better than it did." Kakashi answered, reassuring Naruto.

Sighing to himself, Naruto nodded to show he understood and focused back in on the task at hand. Sasuke was a little ways up ahead, but Naruto could still feel his overwhelming presence. The power he was emitting was unnatural, and anyone knew anything about unnatural power it was him. Despite the situation he couldn't help but smile to himself. Him and Sasuke we're finally going to have a real battle. A _real_ battle. He snorted to himself in amusement.

"This is going to be fun…"

* * *

 **Yo, just gonna' take a few moments to give a little clarification story wise Incase anyone wondering we're at time wise. Right now we're about a few months before the start of Shippūden. I think the general consensus is that Naruto was around 15/borderline 16 at the start of Shippūden, so let's say age wise he's about mid 15 here and everyone is adjusted accordingly.**

 **As always, if you have any questions about the story or comments you want answered just drop em in the reviews or pm me. Happy to answer any of them.**


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